How much flood risk does San Patricio County actually carry?
San Patricio County lands at the 73.8th 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 2.5 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 San Patricio 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, 31.9% of them do — 941 active policies against 2,951 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in San Patricio County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 9% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
How San Patricio County compares nationally
San Patricio County sits at rank 861 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 775 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). San Patricio County, Texas covers 693.32 square miles and counts roughly 71,467 residents.
Checking a specific address in San Patricio County
2,174 of San Patricio County's 24,263 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 San Patricio 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.