Is Pontotoc County, MS in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Pontotoc County's flood hazard at the 35.8th 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. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Pontotoc County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Pontotoc 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, 4.3% of them do — 6 active policies against 141 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Pontotoc County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.1% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Pontotoc County against the rest of the country
Pontotoc County sits at rank 2080 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 1392 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Pontotoc County, Mississippi covers 497.813 square miles and counts roughly 32,014 residents.
Checking a specific address in Pontotoc County
12 of Pontotoc County's 14,017 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 Pontotoc 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.