Lee County, IL: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Lee County scores at the 62.5th 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 once every 1 years. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Lee County
14.1% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Lee County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 82 policies against 583 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.6% of all residential structures in Lee County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Lee County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Lee County ranks 1230 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1350 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Lee County, Illinois covers 724.769 square miles and counts roughly 33,544 residents.
Your street may differ from Lee County's average
FEMA counts 16,175 residential structures in Lee County overall, 93 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Lee 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.