Macon County, AL: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Macon County scores at the 34.8th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Very Low" — among the lowest flood hazard in the country. 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 2 years. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Macon 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, 1.9% of them do — 5 active policies against 268 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.2% of all residential structures in Macon County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Macon County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Macon County ranks 2111 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1924 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Macon County, Alabama covers 608.665 square miles and counts roughly 18,159 residents.
Your street may differ from Macon County's average
16 of Macon County's 8,687 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Macon 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.