Is Waushara County, WI in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Waushara County's flood hazard at the 44.9th percentile nationally — below the national norm for flood hazard — driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about once every 3 years. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Waushara 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, 15.2% of them do — 40 active policies against 263 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Waushara County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.4% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Where Waushara County ranks
Waushara County sits at rank 1794 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 1619 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). About 25,079 people live in Waushara County, Wisconsin, spread over 626.161 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Waushara County
Across all of Waushara County's 13,186 residential structures, 55 carry an NFIP policy today — a county-wide count that still can't tell you one address's own mapped zone.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Waushara 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.