Lanier County, GA: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Lanier County scores at the 8.1th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Very Low" — among the lowest flood hazard in the country. 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 once every 28 years. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Out of 112 homes FEMA counts inside Lanier County's mapped flood zone, 18 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 16.1% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.5% of all residential structures in Lanier County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Lanier County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Lanier County ranks 2902 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2380 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 10,464 people live in Lanier County, Georgia, spread over 196.537 square miles.
Your street may differ from Lanier County's average
FEMA counts 4,259 residential structures in Lanier County overall, 21 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Lanier 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.