How much flood risk does Windham County actually carry?
Windham County lands at the 71.3th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Relatively Low" territory — below the national norm for flood hazard — with the hazard driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 1.9 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 Windham County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Windham 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, 15.6% of them do — 117 active policies against 749 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Windham County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 1.3% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Windham County against the rest of the country
Windham County sits at rank 940 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 1081 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Windham County, Vermont covers 785.959 square miles and counts roughly 45,627 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Windham County
FEMA counts 21,012 residential structures in Windham County overall, 269 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 Windham 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.