Madison County, MS: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Madison County scores at the 76.8th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Moderate" — a middling flood hazard by national standards. 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 2.5 times a year. That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Madison County's flood-insurance compliance gap
27.6% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Madison County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 353 policies against 1,279 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 1.9% 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.
How Madison County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Madison County ranks 762 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 557 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 114,247 people live in Madison County, Mississippi, spread over 714.212 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Madison County
FEMA counts 33,827 residential structures in Madison County overall, 650 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
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.