Blog · October 14, 2026 · Massachusetts
Melrose Flood Zone Map: checking a property's flood zone
The zone on FEMA's map affects insurance, building and resale near Everett.
Main page: Middlesex County, MA GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, county facts and neighboring maps).
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Before an offer near Wakefield, check the Melrose flood zone map: the zone on that map shapes insurance, building rules and resale. This Melrose guide covers: finding the address on FEMA's map, decoding A, AE and X, and pairing it with the MassGIS Interactive Property Map.
Where the Melrose flood zone map lives
The official source is FEMA's Flood Map Service Center: type an address near Malden, and choose the dynamic map. Vacant ground around Everett can still be found: zoom in from Interstate 90 and click inside the land.
Opening the official parcel viewer
Property in and around Wakefield appear on the MassGIS Interactive Property Map, which opens without registering. For land near Medford, type a street address, an owner's name or a parcel number, and the matching parcel lights up. Closer to Everett, save the parcel ID from that panel; every clerk in the county asks for it first.
Field tips
The parcel map usually runs in a mobile browser, which helps when you're standing on land near Wakefield, so load it before you lose signal. A saved image of the lot near Malden and its lines is a good backup.
Melrose and the county around it
Melrose is part of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, which means parcel data comes from the county. For land near Wakefield, the municipality handles matters such as zoning, permits and utilities inside its limits, and the county still keeps the parcel and deed records. Land beyond the town limits toward Stoneham often answers to county rules, not municipal ones.
Reading A, AE and X
Zone AE comes with a base flood elevation, and an unnumbered A zone has none; builders around Wakefield design to it. For land near Stoneham, a shaded X area is moderate risk, between the 1% and 0.2% annual chance floods; plain X, or C on older maps, means minimal mapped risk.
Neighboring parcel maps
Middlesex County meets Essex County, Norfolk County, Suffolk County, Worcester County, and Hillsborough County, NH; every one of them runs a separate parcel map. Acreage along the edge near Wakefield may show up across two assessors' files, so check the adjacent map too. For a tract near Everett, our state page lists each bordering county map across Massachusetts.
Sections, lots and bearings
Rural deeds near Wakefield commonly use metes-and-bounds descriptions, which trace the boundary call by call. Platted lots around Winchester refer to a recorded plat, which is simpler to follow. Keep the legal description for land near Wakefield before you request a deed or survey.
What the map can't tell you
Parcel lines are drawn for taxes, not measured on the ground, so a fence near Malden may sit some distance off the line on screen. For acreage around Wakefield, owner names and values update on a schedule, so a deed recorded last month might lag behind.
What to request from a seller
Request about past flood claims on the property near Wakefield; getting a quote early keeps the budget honest.
Lining it up with the parcel map
FEMA's map shows zones but not ownership, so open the MassGIS Interactive Property Map next to confirm you have the right parcel near Wakefield.
Beyond the mapped zones
Low-lying fields near Stoneham aren't always studied in detail, so walk the land after rain. Marshy spots near Medford can limit building too; the National Wetlands Inventory mapper shows mapped wetlands.
Middlesex County in a few facts
Cambridge is the county seat, which is where the courthouse records live. You'll also find Malden, Stoneham, Wakefield, and Medford, each with its own cluster of lots. Around 1,623,952 people live in Middlesex County (Census Bureau estimate, 2023) on about 818 square miles. Middlesex County dates to 1643, which matters when you trace an old farm's title. Places such as Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge are easy to spot when you zoom out from Wakefield.
What a flood zone means for a buyer
For acreage around Wakefield, an Elevation Certificate from a surveyor helps: it compares the building to the BFE. Remodeling a house in a zone near Medford often needs a floodplain permit; check with the county or town building office early.
Getting answers from the right desk
Questions about value or the owner field for land near Medford go to the town assessor, which maintains the tax roll. Building or septic questions for a lot near Stoneham go to planning, building or health offices, depending on whether the land is inside town limits.
Quick answers
How can I tell if a house near Wakefield is in a flood zone?
Short answer: FEMA's free map shows the zone for any spot near Malden; then confirm the parcel on the county viewer.
Does the county parcel map show flood zones in Melrose?
Short answer: a flood layer may appear in the MassGIS Interactive Property Map layer list; confirm a lot near Winchester on FEMA's map either way.
What is a base flood elevation near Stoneham?
Good question; the BFE is printed in AE zones on FEMA's map; surveyors near Malden use it often.
What is a LOMA for land near Winchester?
For most people, FEMA's LOMA process is the usual route when a building near Medford sits above the base flood elevation, and lenders accept the result.
What's the tax parcel number used for in Melrose?
It's the number the town assessor uses to track a tract near Medford, and it's on the record panel and tax bills.
Open the official Middlesex County, MA parcel map See it in the Platbookmapper directory
Not a survey. County GIS and tax parcel maps are assessment and planning layers. They are not a substitute for a recorded plat, deed, or licensed survey, especially for fences, setbacks, or boundary disputes.