Norfolk County, MA: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Norfolk County scores at the 95.5th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively High" — well above 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 2.9 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Out of 4,629 homes FEMA counts inside Norfolk County's mapped flood zone, 2,001 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 43.2% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 1.5% of all residential structures in Norfolk County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Norfolk County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Norfolk County ranks 153 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 92 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Norfolk County, Massachusetts is home to about 740,754 people across 396.103 square miles of land.
Checking a specific address in Norfolk County
3,015 of Norfolk County's 206,603 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Norfolk 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.