How much flood risk does Menard County actually carry?
Menard County lands at the 29.4th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Very Low" territory — among the lowest flood hazard in the country — with the hazard driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about once every 2 years. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Menard County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Menard 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, 7.8% of them do — 4 active policies against 51 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Menard County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.2% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Where Menard County ranks
Menard County sits at rank 2276 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 2284 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Menard County, Illinois is home to about 11,963 people across 314.391 square miles of land.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Menard County
9 of Menard County's 4,371 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 Menard 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.