Leelanau County, MI: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Leelanau County scores at the 42.1th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Low" — below the national norm for flood hazard. The hazard here is split between inland river flooding (about once every 4 years) and coastal storm surge (about once every 73 years). This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Leelanau County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Leelanau 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, 31.5% of them do — 81 active policies against 257 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.7% of all residential structures in Leelanau County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Leelanau County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Leelanau County ranks 1882 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1688 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Leelanau County, Michigan covers 347.2 square miles and counts roughly 22,871 residents.
Checking a specific address in Leelanau County
113 of Leelanau County's 15,580 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Leelanau County's figures come from
Every figure on this page traces to a named FEMA dataset, documented in the methodology guide. Leelanau County's coastal exposure is covered in the coastal vs. inland flood risk guide, including how storm surge risk differs from river flooding.