Smith County, MS: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Smith County scores at the 40.8th 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 1.1 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.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Smith County
Out of 112 homes FEMA counts inside Smith County's mapped flood zone, 7 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 6.3% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.1% of all residential structures in Smith County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Smith County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Smith County ranks 1921 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2159 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 14,051 people live in Smith County, Mississippi, spread over 636.268 square miles.
Your street may differ from Smith County's average
9 of Smith County's 7,358 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Smith 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.