Rockcastle County, KY: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Rockcastle County scores at the 53th 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 1.7 times a year. That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Out of 181 homes FEMA counts inside Rockcastle County's mapped flood zone, 11 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 6.1% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.2% of all residential structures in Rockcastle County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Rockcastle County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Rockcastle County ranks 1540 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2018 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Rockcastle County, Kentucky covers 316.567 square miles and counts roughly 16,226 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Rockcastle County
17 of Rockcastle County's 7,130 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Rockcastle 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.