Lafayette County, MO: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Lafayette County scores at the 44.3th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Low" — below the national norm for flood hazard. The hazard here is driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 3 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Lafayette 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, 2.5% of them do — 2 active policies against 81 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0% of all residential structures in Lafayette County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Lafayette County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Lafayette County ranks 1811 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1351 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Lafayette County, Missouri is home to about 33,511 people across 628.284 square miles of land.
Checking a specific address in Lafayette County
FEMA counts 15,994 residential structures in Lafayette County overall, 5 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Lafayette County's figures come from
Every figure on this page traces to a named FEMA dataset, documented in the methodology guide. If you're unsure why any of this insurance requirement exists at all, the SFHA explainer covers it from first principles.