Washington County, OH: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Washington County scores at the 80.5th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Moderate" — a middling flood hazard by national standards. 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 4 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Washington County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Washington 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, 10.6% of them do — 254 active policies against 2,387 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 1.2% of all residential structures in Washington County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Washington County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Washington County ranks 639 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 910 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 58,332 people live in Washington County, Ohio, spread over 632.162 square miles.
Checking a specific address in Washington County
FEMA counts 23,518 residential structures in Washington County overall, 278 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Washington 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.