Flood Insurance Cost & Risk by State: 2026 Report

Aaron J. Farmer, licensed flood insurance agent

Reviewed by Aaron J. Farmer, licensed flood specialist CA License #0L75450 · Last reviewed August 20, 2026

Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster in the United States — and as FEMA’s Risk Rating 2.0 reshapes premiums and a changing climate intensifies storms, the cost and the coverage gap vary dramatically by state. Statewide Flood Insurance analyzed flood insurance cost and risk across 17 of the nation’s most flood-exposed states. Here’s what we found.

Key Findings

  • Florida dominates U.S. flood insurance — roughly 1.7 million policies, about 35% of every flood policy in the country.
  • The coverage gap is the real crisis. From New York to Oregon to North Carolina, most homes facing real flood risk carry no flood insurance at all.
  • Flooding outside FEMA “high-risk” zones is everywhere — 43% of flooded North Carolina homes and roughly a third of Boston-area claims came from low- and moderate-risk areas.
  • The Northeast is the most expensive region — New Jersey (~$2,100), Connecticut ($1,400–$1,800), and New York ($1,300–$1,460) lead average NFIP premiums, pushed up by FEMA’s Risk Rating 2.0.
  • “Landlocked” does not mean safe. Inland states post huge losses — Ohio has logged 5,400+ flood events, and 365,000+ Michigan homes face a 26%+ flood risk.
  • The threat is intensifying. 2024–2025 alone brought Hurricane Helene’s Atlanta flash-flood emergency, 16 inches of Connecticut rain in hours, and a Washington atmospheric river that evacuated over 100,000 people.
River floodplain bordering an American suburban development
Median all-in private flood premiums across 7,165 properties in 27 states range from $369 in Michigan to $869 in Connecticut.

Flood insurance cost & risk by state (2026)

Typical average annual NFIP premiums and a notable risk stat for each state we analyzed. Click any state for full local detail and sources.

State Avg. NFIP premium (typical) Notable
Florida ~$700 – $1,363 ~1.7M policies — about 35% of all U.S. flood policies
Louisiana ~$800 – $1,200 Highest flood-coverage rate in the U.S. (~20.9% of homes)
New Jersey ~$2,100 4th in the nation — ~220,000 policies
New York ~$1,300 – $1,460 ~160,000 policies; most at-risk homes uninsured
Connecticut $1,400 – $1,800 Aug 2024: up to 16 inches of rain in 6–8 hours
Ohio ~$1,350 5,400+ recorded flood events; ~$1.8B in damage
Illinois ~$1,250 Overwhelmingly inland river & urban flooding
Massachusetts $1,078 – $1,142 ~1/3 of Boston-area claims came from outside high-risk zones
Texas ~$780 – $1,118 Most flood-prone land of any state — 20M+ acres
Alabama $900 – $1,400 58,500+ policies protecting $12.3B in property
Georgia ~$950 – $1,090 Helene 2024: Atlanta’s first-ever flash-flood emergency
North Carolina ~$900 – $1,100 UNC study: 43% of flooded homes were outside high-risk zones
Washington ~$900 – $1,250 Dec 2025 atmospheric river evacuated 100,000+
Oregon ~$925 ~26,800 policies; most at-risk homes uninsured
Tennessee ~$900 – $1,000 2021 Waverly flash flood — 17+ inches of rain
South Carolina $700 – $800 ~200,000+ policies; hurricane & coastal exposure
Michigan ~$785 – $1,050 365,000+ homes face a 26%+ chance of flooding

Private flood insurance is frequently 30–50% below these NFIP figures for eligible homes, with higher limits. See private vs. NFIP →

What private flood insurance actually costs, by state

The table above reports NFIP premiums — the federal programme, from public data. This one reports something different and, for most readers, more useful: what the private market actually quoted. These are median all-in annual premiums from 7,165 properties we priced across 27 states between February 2025 and August 2026, counted one per property so repeat quotes on the same address do not skew the figures.

“All-in” means premium plus policy fee and any state surplus lines taxes — the number on the bill. Note this is a different fee stack from an NFIP policy, which carries a reserve fund assessment, a federal policy fee and the HFIAA surcharge instead, so the two tables are not directly comparable line for line.

Quoted, not bound. These cover every property we priced, including those that did not buy. We checked how much that matters: across the states where we bind enough policies to compare, the median quoted premium runs about $20 a year above the median policy actually bound, and in our largest states the gap is close to zero. Every state below cleared a minimum of 50 quoted properties; states with thinner data are left out rather than shown with a number we would not stand behind.

What private flood insurance costs, by state Median all-in annual private flood premiums and the middle half of quotes across 7,165 properties in 27 states, February 2025 through August 2026. What private flood insurance costs, by state Median all-in annual premium and the middle half of quotes, 7,165 properties, Feb 2025 – Aug 2026 State Median $0 $400 $800 $1,200 $1,600 Connecticut $869 Alabama $782 Oregon $760 New Jersey $748 California $719 North Carolina $712 Massachusetts $709 New York $703 Colorado $703 Washington $688 Florida $681 Tennessee $671 Texas $670 Hawaii $666 Mississippi $656 Virginia $649 Ohio $620 South Carolina $609 Louisiana $601 Arizona $547 Pennsylvania $534 Missouri $533 Illinois $518 Georgia $510 New Mexico $469 Oklahoma $465 Michigan $369 Bold figure and dot = median · bar = middle half of quotes (25th–75th percentile) · one row per property
Median private flood premiums across 27 states, with the middle half of quotes shown as a bar. Medians run from $369 in Michigan to $869 in Connecticut, and the spread within a state is often wider than the gap between states.
Median all-in annual private flood insurance premium by state, from 7,165 properties quoted by Statewide Flood Insurance, February 2025 – August 2026, one row per property. “Typical range” is the middle half of quotes (25th–75th percentile). Zone medians shown only where at least 50 properties were quoted in that zone — the same threshold a state must clear to appear at all. Below that a zone median is too unstable to publish.
State Median Annual Cost Typical Range Properties Quoted By Flood Zone
California $719 $509–$867 3130 A (numbered) $773 · AE $763 · A $711 · AH $710 · AO $658 · X $516
Washington $688 $483–$835 439 A $719 · AE $706 · X $598
Texas $670 $509–$970 367 AE $892 · X $614
Florida $681 $492–$984 342 AE $895 · X $617
Oregon $760 $639–$883 219 AE $782
Arizona $547 $464–$800 203 AE $581
South Carolina $609 $481–$921 197 AE $799 · X $576
North Carolina $712 $486–$1069 168 AE $945 · X $621
New York $703 $472–$1168 167 AE $732
Massachusetts $709 $478–$997 156 AE $766
Georgia $510 $365–$807 152 X $384
Ohio $620 $475–$844 150 AE $674
Pennsylvania $534 $380–$799 136 AE $558
New Jersey $748 $430–$1143 134 AE $877
Connecticut $869 $623–$1162 134 AE $957
Michigan $369 $359–$559 121 AE $369
Illinois $518 $363–$766 115 AE $513
Tennessee $671 $475–$963 104 Not enough quotes per zone to report
Alabama $782 $539–$1592 99 AE $1000
Virginia $649 $563–$880 95 AE $736
Oklahoma $465 $350–$675 93 Not enough quotes per zone to report
Hawaii $666 $504–$933 59 Not enough quotes per zone to report
Louisiana $601 $473–$1025 57 Not enough quotes per zone to report
Missouri $533 $473–$793 54 Not enough quotes per zone to report
Mississippi $656 $469–$991 53 Not enough quotes per zone to report
New Mexico $469 $464–$824 52 Not enough quotes per zone to report
Colorado $703 $465–$1168 51 Not enough quotes per zone to report

A note on California. California is far and away our largest book, and it has its own specialist team and site. The California figure above links through to California Flood Insurance, where the zone-by-zone breakdown is published from policies actually bound rather than quoted. If you are insuring a California property, start there.

The pattern worth noticing: Zone AE prices very differently by state. It runs about $895 in Florida and $892 in Texas against $763 in California and $706 in Washington — a spread of nearly $200 a year for the same FEMA zone label. Under Risk Rating 2.0 the zone is no longer doing the pricing; your building is. Two identical-looking AE properties in different states are priced on different underlying risk.

States we cover

Every state we write flood insurance in, whether or not we have enough quoted premium data to publish a median. If your state isn’t here, we still take the enquiry — the list reflects where we’ve built enough of a book to speak from experience.

The hidden coverage gap

The most consistent finding across every state is how few at-risk homeowners are actually insured. Standard homeowners insurance excludes flood, yet millions assume they’re covered — and because FEMA flood maps lag behind real-world risk, a large share of flood losses hit homes in so-called low-risk zones. In North Carolina, a UNC study found 43% of flooded homes sat outside high-risk areas; in the Boston metro, roughly a third of claims came from low- and moderate-risk zones. The takeaway: “I’m not in a flood zone” is not protection.

Why flood insurance costs are rising

FEMA’s Risk Rating 2.0 repriced the NFIP property by property, and for most policyholders that has meant steady annual increases — sharp ones in coastal and high-risk areas. That affordability squeeze is the single biggest reason homeowners are turning to private flood insurance, which for most homes is cheaper than the NFIP while offering higher limits and broader coverage. Why homeowners are leaving the NFIP →

Inland flooding: the overlooked threat

Coastal surge gets the headlines, but inland states carry enormous, underinsured risk. Ohio has recorded more than 5,400 flood events; Michigan has 365,000+ homes facing meaningful flood odds; Tennessee, Illinois, and Ohio all face river and flash-flood exposure that routinely strikes neighborhoods no one considered “flood-prone.” Inland homeowners are among the least likely to carry coverage — and the most surprised when water arrives.

Methodology & sources

Figures are approximate statewide averages compiled from FEMA / National Flood Insurance Program data and state insurance and industry sources, 2025–2026. Actual premiums vary widely by property, flood zone, elevation, and construction. State-by-state detail and the specific sources behind each figure are available on the individual state pages linked in the table above. This report may be cited with attribution to Statewide Flood Insurance.

Private-market figures come from Statewide Flood Insurance’s own quoting platform: 7,165 properties priced across 27 states between February 2025 and August 2026, deduplicated to one quote per property. Figures are median all-in annual premiums — premium plus policy fee and state surplus lines taxes. States with fewer than 50 quoted properties are excluded. NFIP premium figures and flood zone definitions come from FEMA’s FloodSmart, the National Flood Insurance Program’s public information service.

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About the Author

Aaron Farmer — President & Licensed Flood Insurance Specialist, Statewide Flood Insurance

Aaron helps homeowners across all 50 states compare private and NFIP flood insurance, using access to multiple Lloyd’s of London markets to secure the best rate — including coverage for hard-to-place, coastal, and high-value homes. Read Aaron’s full bio →

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