Hudson has the worst flood map and the best soil of any coastal market we have measured. Fifty six percent sits inside a flood hazard area, and seventy nine percent of the ground drains well or better. Both of those are unusual and they pull in opposite directions.
Check any Hudson lot in secondsFlood zone, wetlands, soil, owner and zoning, in one search.See how it worksWe sampled 121 points on an even grid across Hudson on 15 September 2026 and ran each against the same public layers the app queries: FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer, the US Fish and Wildlife National Wetlands Inventory on the point and within 500 feet, and the USDA soil survey. Soil figures come from 108 of those points, because the survey does not cover open water. These are measured numbers, not estimates.
Fifty two percent Zone AE, forty four percent Zone X, four percent Zone VE. Fifty six percent of the grid sat inside a special flood hazard area, more than Port Charlotte and more than anywhere else we have sampled.
The four percent in VE matters more than its share. VE is the coastal high hazard area, which adds wave action to the base flood elevation and brings the strictest construction rules and the highest premiums on the map. On a cheap coastal lot that is often the difference between a deal and a loss.
Thirty percent excessively drained, twenty five percent moderately well drained, twenty four percent well drained. Seventy nine percent of the sample drains well or better, with the median seasonal high water table twenty inches down.
That is better ground than Cape Coral, better than Port Charlotte and better than Palm Bay, on a coast where wet soil is the norm. It is the same karst sand over limestone that makes Spring Hill dry, reaching the coast here.
Sixteen percent of the sample had wetland mapped on the point and seventy eight percent had wetland on the lot or within 500 feet. Most of it is coastal and estuarine rather than the forested swamp people picture, which is what you would expect this close to the Gulf.
Flood zone first and it is not close, because more than half this market is in a hazard area and the VE points change the maths entirely. Then wetlands. The soil is the least of your problems here, which is the reverse of most of Florida. Pasco County publishes its parcel and zoning layers and the app reads them for the exact parcel.
The most exposed market we have measured. Of 121 evenly sampled points on 15 September 2026, 52% came back Zone AE, 44% Zone X and 4% Zone VE, putting 56% inside a special flood hazard area. More of Hudson sits in a hazard area than outside one, and the VE points carry wave action on top.
Yes, and that is the surprise. 30% of soil samples came back excessively drained, 25% moderately well drained and 24% well drained, so 79% drains well or better. The median seasonal high water table sat 20 inches down. That is the best soil profile of any coastal market we have measured.
Frequently. 16% of sampled points had wetland on the point and 78% had wetland on the lot or within 500 feet, most of it coastal and estuarine rather than forested swamp.
VE is a coastal high hazard area, a special flood hazard area with wave action added to the base flood elevation. It carries the strictest construction requirements and the highest insurance of any zone on the map. Four percent of our sample landed in it.
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