Poinsett County, AR: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Poinsett County scores at the 37.3th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Low" — below 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 1.2 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 Poinsett County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Poinsett 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% of them do — 52 active policies against 647 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.7% of all residential structures in Poinsett County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Poinsett County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Poinsett County ranks 2035 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1707 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Poinsett County, Arkansas covers 758.295 square miles and counts roughly 22,300 residents.
Your street may differ from Poinsett County's average
63 of Poinsett County's 9,298 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Poinsett 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.