Flood Insurance Cost: What It Costs by State, Flood Zone and Coverage Level

The median homeowner with a federal flood insurance policy from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) pays $1,064 per year, or $89 per month. That means about half of policyholders pay less than that amount and half pay more. The average cost of a policy is higher at $1,259 per year because a small share of very high-risk properties have exceptionally high rates that pull the average up.

These figures cover single-family homes that are the owner's primary residence. The NFIP sells most of the flood coverage in the U.S., but FEMA does not publish data on private flood policies, so the numbers on this page describe what federal policies cost, not what every flood policy costs.

Single-family primary-residence NFIP policies in force Sept. 1, 2026, 2,284,690 policies. All-in cost includes fees and surcharges.

The cost of flood insurance isn't evenly spread across households. About 46% of policyholders pay less than $1,000 per year and 80% pay less than $1,500, so most people pay less than the average. But about 7.6% of policies, roughly 1 in 13, cost $2,500 or more, and 1.4% are charged $5,000 or more.

The main reason for that split is flood zone. MoneyGeek found that 96% of the policies that cost $2,500 or more are in zones FEMA labels A or V, its high-risk flood zones. About 13.5% of the policies in those zones cost $2,500 or more, compared with just 0.7% of policies in lower-risk zones.

A flood insurance bill has four parts that add up to a policyholder's total cost: a premium, a reserve fund assessment, a federal policy fee and a federal surcharge. The premium is the largest piece, but the fees are not small: together they make up about $223, or 21%, of the median bill. For the median policy, the parts break down this way:

Total median cost: $1,064 per year

• Premium: $841 per year. This is the price of the coverage itself and works like the premium on any other insurance policy.
• Reserve fund assessment: $151 per year. A charge on every policy, set at 18% of the premium, that helps the NFIP pay losses and costs like reinsurance.
• Federal policy fee: $47 per year. This contributes to the NFIP's administrative expenses.
• HFIAA surcharge: $25 per year. This helps fund the NFIP's affordability programs for policyholders who receive discounts.

If the premium you were quoted is lower than the bill you receive, the difference is probably these fees and assessments. Only the premium is subject to the 18% yearly cap on increases discussed later on this page.

Where you live is one of the biggest factors in what a flood policy costs. MoneyGeek compared median costs across all 50 states and found they range from $368 per year in Alaska, the cheapest, to $1,508 per year in Connecticut, the most expensive. Most states sit between about $850 and $1,300, and the full ranking is below.

A handful of states account for most of the market. Florida, Texas, Louisiana and California hold 67% of all NFIP single-family policies, so their prices shape the national numbers.

The cheapest states for flood insurance are Alaska, Maryland, Utah, Virginia and Michigan, with medians from $368 to $793. The most expensive are Connecticut, Hawaii, West Virginia, Massachusetts and Vermont, with medians from $1,318 to $1,508. Alaska, Utah and Vermont have fewer than 3,000 policies each, so their medians are less meaningful than the larger states.

The gap between states isn't mainly about how many homes are in high-risk flood zones. Michigan and Connecticut each have about 74% of their policies in high-risk zones, yet a high-risk-zone policy costs a median of $826 in Michigan and $1,814 in Connecticut. The pattern holds in lower-risk zones too: $464 in Maryland against $1,084 in Connecticut. For the same zone, the price depends on the home and the place.

FEMA's public policy data doesn't show how each home was priced, but FEMA says it prices each home on factors like distance to water, the type and frequency of flooding and rebuild cost. Those factors differ from place to place in ways a flood zone letter doesn't capture, which is a likely reason two states with the same zone mix can have very different prices.

Here is the full state ranking, from the most to the least expensive by median cost. Find your state to see how it compares with the rest of the country.

*Fewer than 1,000 policies, so the median is less certain. Single-family primary-residence NFIP policies in force Sept. 1, 2026. D.C. is excluded from the ranking.

The price of a flood insurance policy largely depends on three things: the flood zone your home is in, specific details about the home itself and the amount of coverage you choose. Since 2021 FEMA has priced each home individually, so two homes in the same area can have different prices, and the numbers on this page are medians across many homes, not quotes.

FEMA has many flood zone labels, but they group into a few categories. Zones beginning with the letters X, B or C are lower-risk areas outside FEMA's high-risk zones. Zones beginning with A are high-risk areas that can flood from rivers or heavy rain, and AE is the most common. Zones beginning with V are high-risk coastal areas that can also take wave damage.

Lower-risk zones have a median cost of $938 per year, AE zones have a median of $1,251 and V zones have a median of $1,778. More than half of all NFIP policies (54%) are in high-risk A or V zones, largely because homeowners with a federally backed mortgage in those zones are required to buy flood insurance, while buying in lower-risk zones is optional.

Two A categories cost less than lower-risk zones. A99 zones, where a federal flood-control system under construction is meant to protect the area, have a median of $906, and other A zones such as A, AH and AO, which often involve shallow flooding, have a median of $925. A high-risk label does not always mean a higher price.

Since 2021, FEMA has priced flood insurance on more than the flood zone. The details can include how close the home is to water, how high its lowest floor sits compared with an expected flood height, the type of foundation, the cost to rebuild and the type of flooding that can happen in the area, such as river overflow, storm surge or heavy rain.

This means two homes on the same street can pay very different prices even in the same zone, so the best way to know your cost is to get a quote for your own home. A document called an elevation certificate, which shows how high your home sits, can sometimes lower your rate.

The NFIP covers up to $250,000 in damage to a single-family building and up to $100,000 for belongings. About 77% of policyholders buy the full $250,000 in building coverage, at a median cost of $1,082 per year. Those who buy less than $100,000 pay a median of $734.

The main reason most people buy the maximum is that lenders require coverage equal to the loan amount or $250,000, whichever is less, for federally backed mortgages in high-risk zones. Many people without a requirement buy the full amount too. Buying less can lower your bill, but only makes sense if it would cost less than the limit to rebuild your home.

For a federal policy, the price for the same home is the same no matter which agent or company sells it, so shopping around doesn't lower an NFIP bill. Savings come from where you live, the choices you make about coverage and a few programs that can reduce the price. Cheaper isn't always better, because a lower price with a lower coverage limit isn't the same product.

New policies are priced at the full-risk price from day one. MoneyGeek found that 78% of policies first written in the past 12 months pay exactly their full-risk price, compared with 55% of all other policies. The reason is that many longer-held policies are still climbing toward full price. 

A home seller can often transfer their NFIP policy to the buyer, which can keep the seller's lower rate. If you're buying a home, ask whether the seller has a federal flood policy, request a copy of the declarations page and tell your agent and lender.

NFIP discounts are available to communities that take steps to reduce flood risk, through a program called the Community Rating System (CRS). MoneyGeek found that 97% of Florida's policies are in communities that earn a discount, compared with 63% of policies in the rest of the country, so it's worth asking your agent whether your community qualifies.

An elevation certificate can lower your price if your home sits higher than FEMA assumed. Coverage choices also matter: lowering your building coverage to match your rebuild cost lowers the bill. Ask your agent to price a few options, including different deductibles, so you can see the differences.

Many flood insurance bills have been rising for years and are likely to keep rising. In 2021 FEMA changed how it prices flood insurance so that each home pays for its own flood risk, which FEMA calls the full-risk rate. Many homes had been paying less than that rate, and federal law prevents their premiums from rising more than 18% a year, so those policies climb in steps.

The 18% cap limits increases in the premium, the largest part of the bill, for most primary residences. It does not cap the fees, and the fixed fees do not grow, so a bill for a policy still climbing rises by about 17% a year at the median. If the cap applies to you, your premium keeps rising each year until it reaches the full-risk rate.

For example, a home paying $900 per year with a full-risk rate of $1,300 would pay $1,062 the next year, $1,253 the year after that and $1,300 in the third year, assuming the full-risk rate stays at $1,300. If FEMA raises that rate, the policy keeps climbing to catch up.

MoneyGeek found that 42% of policies nationwide, about 969,000, pay at least $10 less per year than their full-risk rate, which is a subsidized rate. About 56% already pay exactly the full-risk rate. For the subsidized policies, the median policy would pay $784 more per year at full price, and it has about three more years of increases to go.

The climb is longer for some than others. About 39% of the subsidized policies need five or more years of 18% increases to reach full price. If every renewal takes the maximum increase and FEMA's full-risk rates don't change, bills will rise 7.2% on average next year across all policies, and the median subsidized policy would go from $1,227 today to $1,926 in 2030.

The catch-up shows up in what people pay. MoneyGeek analyzed single-family policies renewing in the second week of October each year and found that the median bill held at $450 from 2016 through 2018, then rose to $572 in 2021 and $1,008 in 2025, a 76% increase in four years.

Getting a flood insurance quote takes only a few minutes, but coverage usually doesn't start for 30 days, so it's best to get quotes well before storm or rainy season. You'll compare two kinds of quotes: a federal NFIP policy and, if you want, a private flood policy.

You can get an NFIP quote through an insurance agent or through a company that sells federal flood policies, and the price is the same wherever you ask. Many people can get one through their home or auto insurance agent even when that company doesn't write the policy. Have your address, flood zone, details about the building and the coverage and deductible you want ready.

Private flood insurance comes through independent agents and some insurers, such as Neptune, and prices vary by company. Ask for the same building limit, contents limit and deductible you chose for the federal quote, and compare the all-in yearly cost and the policy details such as how belongings are paid.