Is Lee County, IA in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Lee County's flood hazard at the 70.4th percentile nationally — 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 2.4 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.
Lee County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Out of 1,370 homes FEMA counts inside Lee County's mapped flood zone, 13 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 1% compliance, short of full coverage. Across all residential structures in Lee County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.2% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
How Lee County compares nationally
Lee County sits at rank 970 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 1386 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). About 32,376 people live in Lee County, Iowa, spread over 517.55 square miles.
Your street may differ from Lee County's average
Across all of Lee County's 25,950 residential structures, 38 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 Lee 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.