Wise County, VA: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Wise County scores at the 66.3th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Low" — below the national norm for flood hazard. The hazard here is driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about once every 1 years. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
12.2% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Wise County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 136 policies against 1,115 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 1.1% of all residential structures in Wise County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Wise County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Wise County ranks 1106 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1311 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Wise County, Virginia is home to about 34,973 people across 403.443 square miles of land.
Checking a specific address in Wise County
FEMA counts 14,296 residential structures in Wise County overall, 154 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Wise County's figures come from
Every figure on this page traces to a named FEMA dataset, documented in the methodology guide. If you're unsure why any of this insurance requirement exists at all, the SFHA explainer covers it from first principles.