How much flood risk does Webster County actually carry?
Webster County lands at the 31.8th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Very Low" territory — among the lowest flood hazard in the country — with the hazard driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 1.4 times a year. That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Webster 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, 11.3% of them do — 49 active policies against 433 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Webster County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.9% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Where Webster County ranks
Webster County sits at rank 2202 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 2228 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). About 12,854 people live in Webster County, Kentucky, spread over 332.027 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Webster County
51 of Webster County's 5,541 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 Webster 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.