Newton County, TX flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Newton County sits at the 38.2th national percentile, among the lowest flood hazard in the country; split between inland river flooding (about once every 1 years) and coastal storm surge (about once every 83 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 Newton County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Newton 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, 28% of them do — 198 active policies against 707 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 4.5% of all residential structures in Newton County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Newton County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Newton County ranks 2007 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2289 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Newton County, Texas covers 933.677 square miles and counts roughly 11,908 residents.
Checking a specific address in Newton County
FEMA counts 5,990 residential structures in Newton County overall, 268 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Newton County's figures come from
Every figure on this page traces to a named FEMA dataset, documented in the methodology guide. Newton County's coastal exposure is covered in the coastal vs. inland flood risk guide, including how storm surge risk differs from river flooding.