Is Lowndes County, MS in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Lowndes County's flood hazard at the 78.1th percentile nationally — a middling flood hazard by national standards — driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 1.7 times a year. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Lowndes 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, 17.5% of them do — 514 active policies against 2,945 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Lowndes County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 2.5% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
How Lowndes County compares nationally
Lowndes County sits at rank 720 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 921 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). About 57,210 people live in Lowndes County, Mississippi, spread over 506.068 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Lowndes County
594 of Lowndes County's 23,371 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Lowndes 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.