Pearl River County, MS: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Pearl River County scores at the 73.2th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Moderate" — a middling flood hazard by national standards. 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 once every 1 years. That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Pearl River County
Out of 1,926 homes FEMA counts inside Pearl River County's mapped flood zone, 341 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 17.7% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 2.6% of all residential structures in Pearl River County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Pearl River County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Pearl River County ranks 882 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 903 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Pearl River County, Mississippi covers 811.508 square miles and counts roughly 59,030 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Pearl River County
FEMA counts 24,360 residential structures in Pearl River County overall, 642 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Pearl River 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.