Lawrence County, TN flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Lawrence County sits at the 56.9th national percentile, below the national norm for flood hazard; driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 3.3 times a year. That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Lawrence County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Lawrence 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, 12.3% of them do — 14 active policies against 114 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.1% of all residential structures in Lawrence County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Lawrence County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Lawrence County ranks 1418 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1061 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 46,467 people live in Lawrence County, Tennessee, spread over 617.13 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Lawrence County
27 of Lawrence County's 19,388 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Lawrence 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.