How much flood risk does Karnes County actually carry?
Karnes County lands at the 63.8th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Relatively Low" territory — below the national norm for flood hazard — with the hazard driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 2.6 times a year. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Karnes County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Karnes County's mapped high-risk flood zone (the Special Flood Hazard Area, or SFHA) are legally required to carry an NFIP flood policy. In practice, 3.2% of them do — 13 active policies against 406 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Karnes County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.4% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Karnes County against the rest of the country
Karnes County sits at rank 1190 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 2086 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). About 15,137 people live in Karnes County, Texas, spread over 747.752 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Karnes County
Across all of Karnes County's 6,541 residential structures, 28 carry an NFIP policy today — a county-wide count that still can't tell you one address's own mapped zone.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Karnes County's numbers. The guide to what the Special Flood Hazard Area actually means explains why the mandatory-insurance rule exists and who it applies to.