Unicoi County, TN: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Unicoi County scores at the 27.4th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Very Low" — among the lowest flood hazard in the country. 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 once every 1 years. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Out of 390 homes FEMA counts inside Unicoi County's mapped flood zone, 112 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 28.7% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 1.7% of all residential structures in Unicoi County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Unicoi County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Unicoi County ranks 2332 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1941 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 17,872 people live in Unicoi County, Tennessee, spread over 186.064 square miles.
Your street may differ from Unicoi County's average
Across all of Unicoi County's 8,041 residential structures, 136 carry an NFIP policy today — a county-wide count that still can't tell you one address's own mapped zone.
Where Unicoi 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.