How much flood risk does Lincoln County actually carry?
Lincoln County lands at the 86.6th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Relatively Moderate" territory — a middling flood hazard by national standards — with the hazard driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about once every 2 years. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Lincoln County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Lincoln 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, 27.5% of them do — 555 active policies against 2,021 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Lincoln County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 4% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
How Lincoln County compares nationally
Lincoln County sits at rank 444 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 994 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Lincoln County, Oregon is home to about 51,212 people across 980.989 square miles of land.
Checking a specific address in Lincoln County
FEMA counts 28,353 residential structures in Lincoln County overall, 1,126 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Lincoln 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.