How much flood risk does Palm Beach County actually carry?
Palm Beach County lands at the 98.9th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Relatively High" territory — well above the national norm for flood hazard — with the hazard split between inland river flooding (about 2.1 times a year) and coastal storm surge (about 2.9 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 Palm Beach County
Out of 43,577 homes FEMA counts inside Palm Beach County's mapped flood zone, 18,933 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 43.5% compliance, short of full coverage. Across all residential structures in Palm Beach County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 13% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
How Palm Beach County compares nationally
Palm Beach County sits at rank 40 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 24 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Palm Beach County, Florida is home to about 1,582,055 people across 1,964.32 square miles of land.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Palm Beach County
69,154 of Palm Beach County's 530,976 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 Palm Beach County's numbers. Because storm surge plays a real role here, the guide to coastal vs. inland flood hazard is worth reading alongside this page.