How much flood risk does Wilson County actually carry?
Wilson County lands at the 84.4th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Relatively Moderate" territory — a middling flood hazard by national standards — with the hazard driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 2.3 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.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Wilson County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Wilson 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, 16.2% of them do — 105 active policies against 650 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Wilson 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.
How Wilson County compares nationally
Wilson County sits at rank 515 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 944 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Wilson County, Texas covers 803.735 square miles and counts roughly 55,415 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Wilson County
173 of Wilson County's 20,232 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 Wilson 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.