How much flood risk does Stafford County actually carry?
Stafford County lands at the 75.5th 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 1.8 times a year. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Stafford 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, 22.5% of them do — 79 active policies against 351 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Stafford County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.8% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
How Stafford County compares nationally
Stafford County sits at rank 805 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 415 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). About 168,919 people live in Stafford County, Virginia, spread over 268.489 square miles.
Your street may differ from Stafford County's average
377 of Stafford County's 49,917 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 Stafford 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.