Rankin County, MS: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Rankin County scores at the 79.6th 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 3.7 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 Rankin County
Out of 2,338 homes FEMA counts inside Rankin County's mapped flood zone, 777 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 33.2% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 2.3% of all residential structures in Rankin County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Rankin County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Rankin County ranks 669 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 435 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Rankin County, Mississippi covers 775.501 square miles and counts roughly 160,573 residents.
Your street may differ from Rankin County's average
FEMA counts 52,108 residential structures in Rankin County overall, 1,202 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Rankin 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.