McNairy County, TN: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, McNairy County scores at the 33.3th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Very Low" — among the lowest flood hazard in the country. 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 once every 1 years. That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in McNairy County
8.2% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in McNairy County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 11 policies against 135 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.1% of all residential structures in McNairy County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where McNairy County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, McNairy County ranks 2156 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1574 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. McNairy County, Tennessee covers 562.845 square miles and counts roughly 26,103 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in McNairy County
FEMA counts 12,424 residential structures in McNairy County overall, 12 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where McNairy 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.