How Much Does Flood Insurance Cost?

The average cost of flood insurance is about $739 per year nationwide.
Sarah Schlichter
By Sarah Schlichter 
Updated
Edited by Caitlin Constantine

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You’ve fallen in love with that charming little house near the river. But if you buy that home, your mortgage lender will require you to buy flood insurance. Will the extra expense put your dream home out of reach?

Your flood insurance cost will depend on many factors, including the size, location and elevation of the house. To get a rough idea of what you can expect to pay, check out the average costs of flood insurance below.

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How much is flood insurance?

The average flood insurance cost in the U.S. is $739 a year, according to NerdWallet’s analysis of 2023 National Flood Insurance Program rates. (This figure doesn't include private flood insurance policies from companies that aren't backed by the NFIP.)

Flood insurance for renters can be much cheaper if you need to cover your personal belongings only. The NFIP advertises rates as low as $99 a year for contents-only coverage.

Below are the average flood insurance rates for each state, according to NFIP data. Rates include all NFIP policies, including commercial policies.

State

Average annual cost

Average monthly cost

National average

$739

$62

Alabama

$700

$58

Alaska

$470

$39

Arizona

$722

$60

Arkansas

$816

$68

California

$801

$67

Colorado

$791

$66

Connecticut

$1,244

$104

Delaware

$654

$55

Florida

$677

$56

Georgia

$683

$57

Hawaii

$657

$55

Idaho

$787

$66

Illinois

$879

$73

Indiana

$864

$72

Iowa

$1,037

$86

Kansas

$867

$72

Kentucky

$1,137

$95

Louisiana

$747

$62

Maine

$994

$83

Maryland

$438

$37

Massachusetts

$1,042

$87

Michigan

$748

$62

Minnesota

$881

$73

Mississippi

$854

$71

Missouri

$1,133

$94

Montana

$794

$66

Nebraska

$822

$69

Nevada

$715

$60

New Hampshire

$968

$81

New Jersey

$859

$72

New Mexico

$781

$65

New York

$1,009

$84

North Carolina

$690

$58

North Dakota

$720

$60

Ohio

$932

$78

Oklahoma

$859

$72

Oregon

$794

$66

Pennsylvania

$1,164

$97

Rhode Island

$929

$77

South Carolina

$597

$50

South Dakota

$927

$77

Tennessee

$927

$77

Texas

$709

$59

Utah

$567

$47

Vermont

$1,308

$109

Virginia

$642

$54

Washington

$824

$69

Washington, D.C.

$489

$41

West Virginia

$1,262

$105

Wisconsin

$796

$66

Wyoming

$837

$70

If you live in an area with a higher flood risk, you’ll generally pay higher premiums. You can see your home’s risk by entering your address into the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Flood Map Service Center. Zones that start with the letter A or V have the highest risk of flooding, while low- or moderate-risk zones start with the letters B, C or X.

Here’s how flood rates vary between higher- and lower-risk zones.

Flood zone

Average annual cost

Average monthly cost

High risk (zones starting with A or V)

$843

$70

Low or moderate risk (all other zones)

$613

$51

Risk Rating 2.0

In October 2021, FEMA began using an approach called Risk Rating 2.0 to set flood insurance rates. FEMA now includes extra variables such as flood frequency and rebuilding cost when evaluating each home’s chance of flooding. The methodology is part of an effort to set prices that more accurately factors in flooding risk for flood insurance.

Flood insurance premiums dropped for about 23% of existing policyholders under the new methodology, while everyone else is paying the same or more, according to FEMA. In most cases, federal law prevents your premium from going up by more than 18% in any given year. (Exceptions include vacation homes and properties that have had multiple severe flood claims.)

Because of this cap, some policyholders may see their premiums rise year after year until their rate reflects what FEMA sees as the property’s true risk. The agency estimates that about 50% of primary residential policies will have reached their full risk rate after five years of increases, according to a 2022 report to Congress

. It’ll take 10 years of rate increases before 90% of policies will be at their full risk rate, the report says.

FEMA recently released data showing how much the average flood insurance policy cost could go up in each state under Risk Rating 2.0. In the table below, you can see how much flood insurance policyholders were paying in each state as of September 30, 2022 (the date this information was collected). Beside that rate in the table is the amount policyholders would be paying if their rates reflected the actual flood risk of their properties as determined under Risk Rating 2.0.

Take Alabama, for example. A current flood insurance policyholder there is paying an average of $927 per year. But the true cost of flood insurance for the average property would be $2,051 per year — an increase of 121%. So an average Alabama policyholder could expect their rate to go up 18% a year for several years until they’re paying the full risk-based cost.

Note: The current average rates below are different from the ones in the table above because this data shows only single-family residential policies that were renewed under Risk Rating 2.0 by September 30, 2022. The table above includes all NFIP policies.

State

Current average cost

Risk-based average cost

Percentage difference

Alabama

$927

$2,051

121%

Alaska

$454

$543

20%

Arizona

$825

$1,443

75%

Arkansas

$849

$1,583

86%

California

$901

$1,689

87%

Colorado

$860

$1,644

91%

Connecticut

$1,590

$3,000

89%

Delaware

$874

$1,497

71%

Florida

$958

$2,213

131%

Georgia

$791

$1,332

68%

Hawaii

$1,437

$3,653

154%

Idaho

$862

$1,633

89%

Illinois

$1,039

$1,697

63%

Indiana

$917

$1,361

48%

Iowa

$867

$1,679

94%

Kansas

$870

$1,569

80%

Kentucky

$1,060

$2,201

108%

Louisiana

$813

$1,904

134%

Maine

$953

$2,700

183%

Maryland

$608

$742

22%

Massachusetts

$1,269

$2,097

65%

Michigan

$811

$1,068

32%

Minnesota

$943

$1,832

94%

Mississippi

$858

$2,137

149%

Missouri

$978

$2,038

108%

Montana

$899

$1,656

84%

Nebraska

$824

$1,323

61%

Nevada

$715

$1,031

44%

New Hampshire

$1,216

$2,545

109%

New Jersey

$1,081

$2,129

97%

New Mexico

$891

$1,344

51%

New York

$1,184

$2,197

86%

North Carolina

$791

$1,363

72%

North Dakota

$798

$1,342

68%

Ohio

$883

$1,303

48%

Oklahoma

$876

$1,683

92%

Oregon

$936

$1,969

110%

Pennsylvania

$1,075

$2,060

92%

Rhode Island

$1,062

$1,503

42%

South Carolina

$798

$1,531

92%

South Dakota

$937

$2,062

120%

Tennessee

$887

$1,664

88%

Texas

$776

$1,405

81%

Utah

$645

$953

48%

Vermont

$1,197

$2,248

88%

Virginia

$743

$1,077

45%

Washington

$918

$1,782

94%

Washington, D.C.

$404

$407

1%

West Virginia

$1,133

$3,074

171%

Wisconsin

$878

$1,331

52%

Wyoming

$907

$1,669

84%

What affects your flood insurance cost?

Many factors determine how much you’ll pay for flood insurance.

Your home’s location and characteristics

Under Risk Rating 2.0, FEMA looks at which flood zone your home is in and how likely your property is to flood. Your home’s flood insurance rate could vary based on answers to questions such as:

  • How close is the house to a river or other flood source?

  • How much would it cost to rebuild your home?

  • How high is the first floor?

  • How often does the surrounding area flood?

Together, these and other factors determine how likely it is that a flood could damage your home. In general, the higher the risk, the more you’ll pay for flood insurance.

Your community

If you live in a place that takes certain steps to lessen its risk of flood damage, you could be eligible for a discount on your flood insurance. These steps could include managing stormwater, maintaining levees and requiring real estate agents to disclose when a property is prone to flooding.

Your coverage and deductibles

The more coverage you need, the more your insurance will cost. So a small home that needs only $125,000 of building coverage will generally have a lower flood insurance rate than a larger one that needs the NFIP’s maximum of $250,000 in coverage (all other factors being equal).

Choosing a higher deductible — the amount of a claim you pay yourself — will generally lower your premium.

How to save on flood insurance

You may be able to shave a bit off your premium by taking the following steps.

Reduce your flood risk

If you take steps to reduce your home’s chance of flood damage, you could see a discount on your insurance. The NFIP recommends:

  • Installing flood vents on exterior walls. These openings allow water to flow between the outside and inside of your foundation, equalizing pressure and preventing collapse.

  • Filling in your basement or crawl space. In some high-risk areas, you may pay 15% to 20% more for flood insurance if you have a basement.

  • Raising utilities. Moving your heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, water heaters and other utilities to an attic or elevated platform can help protect them from flood damage.

  • Elevating your house or moving it to a new location. These options are pricey enough that they’re probably not worth doing just to get a discount on your flood insurance. However, if your home is in a high-risk location or has flooded before, taking these steps may spare you the stress and hassle of dealing with flood damage in the future.

Submit an elevation certificate

An elevation certificate shows the elevation of your home’s lowest floor, plus the building’s location and features. The NFIP doesn’t require you to have an elevation certificate to get a policy. But sometimes providing your insurance agent with a certificate could help you qualify for a lower rate.

To get an elevation certificate, ask your local flood plain manager if there’s one on file for your home. You can also check whether your property deed includes an elevation certificate.

If your home doesn’t have an elevation certificate, you can hire a land surveyor, engineer or architect to create one.

Shop around

There may be private insurance companies in your area that will cover your property at a lower rate than the NFIP. You can find them by contacting a local insurance agent. Learn more about private flood insurance.

Adjust your deductible or coverage limits

As noted above, choosing a higher deductible or buying less coverage can help you lower your annual flood insurance cost. But either option will leave you responsible for paying more in the event of a claim. Be sure you can afford to come through with the cash if needed.

Methodology

NerdWallet used the National Flood Insurance Program’s most recent “Policy Information by State” report to calculate the average cost of flood insurance in each state and across the country for all policyholders. To determine the national average, we divided the total written premium for all communities across the U.S. by the total number of policies in force. To determine the average for each state, we divided the total written premium for all communities within that state by the state’s total number of policies in force. Rates are based on residential and nonresidential policies.

We used the National Flood Insurance Program’s most recent “Policies in Force by Occupancy Type/Zone” report to calculate the average cost of flood insurance by zone. The Federal Emergency Management Agency defines higher-risk zones as those starting with the letter A or V. All other zones are considered lower-risk zones. To find the averages, we divided the total written premium for each zone grouping by the number of policies in force. Rates are based on residential and nonresidential policies.

To show the difference between current rates and risk-based rates under Risk Rating 2.0, we used the National Flood Insurance Program’s “Cost of Flood Insurance for Single-Family Homes under Risk Rating 2.0” data, showing policies that were in force as of September 30, 2022, and rated under Risk Rating 2.0. We calculated the percentage difference between the average rates that flood insurance policyholders are currently paying in each state and the rates that reflect their properties’ true flood risk under Risk Rating 2.0. Rates are for single-family residential policies.

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