Transylvania County, NC: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Transylvania County scores at the 67.1th 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 2.4 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Transylvania County
28.4% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Transylvania County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 147 policies against 517 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 1.6% of all residential structures in Transylvania County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Transylvania County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Transylvania County ranks 1081 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1333 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Transylvania County, North Carolina covers 378.365 square miles and counts roughly 34,103 residents.
Your street may differ from Transylvania County's average
FEMA counts 17,776 residential structures in Transylvania County overall, 284 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Transylvania 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.