Mason County, WV: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Mason County scores at the 76.3th 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 2.1 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Mason County
5% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Mason County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 70 policies against 1,396 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.6% of all residential structures in Mason County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Mason County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Mason County ranks 780 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1628 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Mason County, West Virginia covers 430.768 square miles and counts roughly 24,770 residents.
Your street may differ from Mason County's average
77 of Mason County's 12,603 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Mason 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.