Tama County, IA flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Tama County sits at the 42.4th national percentile, below the national norm for flood hazard; driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 1.5 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
Out of 230 homes FEMA counts inside Tama County's mapped flood zone, 27 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 11.7% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.4% of all residential structures in Tama County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Tama County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Tama County ranks 1873 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1991 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Tama County, Iowa is home to about 16,738 people across 721.011 square miles of land.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Tama County
35 of Tama County's 10,093 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Tama 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.