Madison County, TN flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Madison County sits at the 72.6th 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 2.5 times a year. 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
21.6% 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: 86 policies against 398 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.4% 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.
Where Madison County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Madison County ranks 899 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 620 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Madison County, Tennessee covers 557.174 square miles and counts roughly 100,409 residents.
Your street may differ from Madison County's average
166 of Madison County's 37,882 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.