How much flood risk does Marshall County actually carry?
Marshall County lands at the 49.7th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Relatively Low" territory — below the national norm for flood hazard — with the 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.
Marshall County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Marshall 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, 17.7% of them do — 85 active policies against 480 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Marshall County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.7% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Marshall County against the rest of the country
Marshall County sits at rank 1642 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 1243 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). About 37,847 people live in Marshall County, Tennessee, spread over 375.462 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Marshall County
102 of Marshall County's 14,753 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Marshall County's numbers. The guide to what the Special Flood Hazard Area actually means explains why the mandatory-insurance rule exists and who it applies to.