How much flood risk does Phelps County actually carry?
Phelps County lands at the 52.4th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Relatively Low" territory — below the national norm for flood hazard — with the hazard driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 2.7 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Phelps County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Phelps 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, 13.9% of them do — 49 active policies against 353 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Phelps County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.4% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Phelps County against the rest of the country
Phelps County sits at rank 1558 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 1079 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Phelps County, Missouri is home to about 45,672 people across 671.787 square miles of land.
Your street may differ from Phelps County's average
FEMA counts 17,145 residential structures in Phelps County overall, 76 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 Phelps 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.