How much flood risk does Rockingham County actually carry?
Rockingham County lands at the 83th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Relatively Moderate" territory — a middling flood hazard by national standards — with the hazard driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 1.9 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
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Rockingham 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, 7.5% of them do — 30 active policies against 398 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Rockingham 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.
Where Rockingham County ranks
Rockingham County sits at rank 559 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 656 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). About 93,517 people live in Rockingham County, North Carolina, spread over 565.642 square miles.
Checking a specific address in Rockingham County
FEMA counts 50,181 residential structures in Rockingham County overall, 54 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 Rockingham 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.