Noble County, OH: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Noble County scores at the 35.8th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Low" — below the national norm for flood hazard. 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 2.2 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 Noble 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, 23.8% of them do — 20 active policies against 84 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.7% of all residential structures in Noble County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Noble County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Noble County ranks 2082 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2140 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Noble County, Ohio is home to about 14,269 people across 397.969 square miles of land.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Noble County
31 of Noble County's 4,543 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Noble 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.