Is Van Buren County, TN in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Van Buren County's flood hazard at the 7.5th percentile nationally — among the lowest flood hazard in the country — driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about once every 2 years. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Van Buren County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Van Buren 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, 13.3% of them do — 15 active policies against 113 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Van Buren County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.5% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Van Buren County against the rest of the country
Van Buren County sits at rank 2921 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 2681 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Van Buren County, Tennessee is home to about 6,686 people across 273.415 square miles of land.
Checking a specific address in Van Buren County
16 of Van Buren County's 3,455 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 Van Buren 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.