How much flood risk does Wilkinson County actually carry?
Wilkinson County lands at the 33.8th 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 once every 3 years. That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Wilkinson County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Wilkinson 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, 11.1% of them do — 47 active policies against 423 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Wilkinson County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 1% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Wilkinson County against the rest of the country
Wilkinson County sits at rank 2142 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 2586 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Wilkinson County, Mississippi is home to about 7,820 people across 678.012 square miles of land.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Wilkinson County
FEMA counts 5,476 residential structures in Wilkinson County overall, 57 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Wilkinson 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.