Is Nobles County, MN in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Nobles County's flood hazard at the 48.5th percentile nationally — below the national norm for flood hazard — driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 1.1 times a year. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Nobles County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Nobles 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, 24.3% of them do — 17 active policies against 70 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Nobles 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.
How Nobles County compares nationally
Nobles County sits at rank 1682 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 1722 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). About 21,969 people live in Nobles County, Minnesota, spread over 715.117 square miles.
Checking a specific address in Nobles County
FEMA counts 8,099 residential structures in Nobles County overall, 18 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Nobles 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.