Is Pleasants County, WV in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Pleasants County's flood hazard at the 50th 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 once every 1 years. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Pleasants 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, 8.5% of them do — 18 active policies against 212 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Pleasants County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.8% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
How Pleasants County compares nationally
Pleasants County sits at rank 1634 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 2633 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Pleasants County, West Virginia covers 130.119 square miles and counts roughly 7,358 residents.
Checking a specific address in Pleasants County
FEMA counts 2,941 residential structures in Pleasants County overall, 24 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 Pleasants 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.