Taylor County, FL: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Taylor County scores at the 76.6th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Moderate" — a middling flood hazard by national standards. The hazard here is driven by coastal storm surge rather than inland rivers — FEMA's model puts a surge event here at about 3.8 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Taylor County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Taylor 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, 23.6% of them do — 632 active policies against 2,677 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 6.9% of all residential structures in Taylor County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Taylor County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Taylor County ranks 771 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1729 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Taylor County, Florida covers 1,043.337 square miles and counts roughly 21,843 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Taylor County
669 of Taylor County's 9,758 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Taylor County's figures come from
Every figure on this page traces to a named FEMA dataset, documented in the methodology guide. Taylor County's coastal exposure is covered in the coastal vs. inland flood risk guide, including how storm surge risk differs from river flooding.