Marshall County, WV flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Marshall County sits at the 76.7th national percentile, a middling flood hazard by national standards; driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 2.3 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
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, 8.9% of them do — 97 active policies against 1,090 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.8% of all residential structures in Marshall County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Marshall County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Marshall County ranks 767 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1458 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Marshall County, West Virginia covers 305.396 square miles and counts roughly 29,354 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Marshall County
FEMA counts 13,906 residential structures in Marshall County overall, 113 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Marshall 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.