Madison County, IA flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Madison County sits at the 36.6th national percentile, below the national norm for flood hazard; driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 1.4 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
Out of 44 homes FEMA counts inside Madison County's mapped flood zone, 4 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 9.1% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.1% of all residential structures in Madison County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Madison County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Madison County ranks 2058 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1966 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 17,161 people live in Madison County, Iowa, spread over 561.006 square miles.
Your street may differ from Madison County's average
5 of Madison County's 7,446 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Madison 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.