Macomb County, MI: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Macomb County scores at the 97.5th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively High" — well above 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 1.9 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
29.8% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Macomb County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 1,028 policies against 3,449 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.5% of all residential structures in Macomb County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Macomb County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Macomb County ranks 89 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 67 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 886,175 people live in Macomb County, Michigan, spread over 479.355 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Macomb County
FEMA counts 296,724 residential structures in Macomb County overall, 1,360 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Macomb 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.