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Flood insurance cost · CA

Flood insurance cost in California

What homeowners with a National Flood Insurance Program policy actually pay, from FEMA's records of 134,613 home policies in force on August 31, 2026.

CaliforniaPolicies in force on Aug 31, 2026

Median annual cost of NFIP flood insurance for a home

$1,079a year

Half of insured homes paid between $763 and $1,358. That is about the same as the national median ($1,082). The most common flood zone for insured homes here is zone X (35%).

$0$763 · $1,079 · $1,358$1,698
+15.8% vs Aug 31, 2025 (median $932)
134,613home policies in force
$1,228average cost (mean)
64%of insured homes in high-risk zones (A, V)
$250,000median building coverage

This is what policyholders paid, not a quote. Two neighbors can pay very different prices: NFIP prices depend on the building (elevation, foundation, number of floors, replacement cost), the coverage and deductible chosen and the distance to water (FEMA FloodSmart: premium factors). For a price for your building, ask an insurance agent. Private flood insurance is not included in these figures.

Disaster declarations: see FEMA declarations and IRS tax relief in California, county by county.

Cost by flood zone in California

The flood zone on FEMA's map is one of the main price factors. Median and middle half of what insured homes paid, by the zone used to rate the policy.

Flood zoneMedianMiddle half (25th–75th percentile)AveragePoliciesvs last year
Zone VE / V
High risk, coastal		$1,741$1,253–$3,016$2,3301,310 (1%)+9.3%
Zone AE
High risk		$1,358$999–$1,968$1,71427,886 (21%)+8.6%
Zone A
High risk		$1,220$850–$1,684$1,39210,339 (8%)+2.1%
Zone AO
High risk, shallow		$1,017$758–$1,535$1,23015,685 (12%)+7.8%
Zone AH
High risk, shallow		$1,137$782–$1,842$1,3795,081 (4%)+7.5%
Zone A99 / AR
High risk, levee areas		$853$650–$1,106$89226,239 (19%)+4.8%
Zone X
Moderate to low risk		$1,077$747–$1,233$1,04347,569 (35%)+16.1%
Zone D
Undetermined		$1,106$730–$1,679$1,490504 (0%)−3.0%

Shares are of all insured homes; a few policies have no rated zone. "vs last year" compares medians with policies in force a year earlier.

Cost by type of building

All NFIP policies in force in California, by what they insure.

Type of buildingPoliciesMedianAverage
Single-family home122,281$1,079$1,233
2–4 unit building4,723$1,324$1,611
Manufactured (mobile) home2,082$1,086$1,308
Condo or apartment unit5,527$644$764
Whole residential building (5+ units or condo association)
One policy covers the whole building, so the cost is much higher than for a single home.		6,047$1,786$2,857
Non-residential building or unit
Businesses, churches, farm buildings and other non-residential property.		13,891$1,794$2,688
154,551NFIP policies in force, any building
169,578insured units (condo association policies count every unit)
70%of home policies also cover contents
$100,000median contents coverage, when bought

One year on: California

Policies in force on August 31, 2026 compared with a year earlier. Nationwide, practically all policies in both years carry FEMA's Risk Rating 2.0 occupancy codes, so both years use the same pricing system. The policies are not the same: some were new, some lapsed.

Aug 31, 2025Aug 31, 2026Change
Home policies in force143,896134,613−6.5%
Median annual cost$932$1,079+15.8%
Average annual cost$1,133$1,228+8.4%
All policies in force (any building)164,355154,551−6.0%

Flood claims history

Since 1978, NFIP policyholders in California have filed 53,563 flood claims. 35,517 received a payment, for a total of $761.2 million (an average of $21,433 per paid claim). The year with the most claims was 1995 (8,261 claims). Amounts are in dollars of the time, not adjusted for inflation.

02.5k5k7.5k10k1978: 1,198 claims, 754 paid, $3,734,245 in total1979: 629 claims, 381 paid, $2,067,849 in total1980: 2,846 claims, 1,870 paid, $12,410,660 in total19801981: 606 claims, 388 paid, $1,787,291 in total1982: 2,125 claims, 1,489 paid, $12,925,515 in total1983: 4,652 claims, 3,134 paid, $30,841,614 in total19831984: 197 claims, 83 paid, $665,631 in total1985: 118 claims, 38 paid, $231,035 in total1986: 2,627 claims, 2,097 paid, $35,554,143 in total1987: 116 claims, 35 paid, $179,011 in total1988: 499 claims, 300 paid, $4,118,279 in total1989: 73 claims, 26 paid, $229,804 in total1990: 53 claims, 17 paid, $95,597 in total19901991: 267 claims, 126 paid, $1,199,995 in total1992: 823 claims, 470 paid, $4,130,156 in total1993: 1,291 claims, 704 paid, $6,730,943 in total1994: 215 claims, 101 paid, $1,305,322 in total1995: 8,261 claims, 5,639 paid, $116,147,147 in total19951996: 940 claims, 596 paid, $8,318,409 in total1997: 3,115 claims, 2,291 paid, $44,131,543 in total1998: 6,768 claims, 4,502 paid, $60,721,181 in total19981999: 217 claims, 78 paid, $1,130,546 in total2000: 448 claims, 196 paid, $1,646,363 in total20002001: 511 claims, 250 paid, $2,866,530 in total2002: 460 claims, 283 paid, $7,819,129 in total2003: 236 claims, 125 paid, $1,864,234 in total2004: 506 claims, 328 paid, $6,334,800 in total2005: 2,978 claims, 2,413 paid, $91,668,776 in total2006: 642 claims, 489 paid, $14,797,899 in total2007: 54 claims, 17 paid, $284,091 in total2008: 274 claims, 162 paid, $3,738,615 in total2009: 153 claims, 66 paid, $1,375,815 in total2010: 826 claims, 487 paid, $11,915,184 in total20102011: 275 claims, 115 paid, $3,031,030 in total2012: 278 claims, 148 paid, $3,036,708 in total2013: 76 claims, 27 paid, $1,308,220 in total2014: 563 claims, 368 paid, $15,018,180 in total2015: 125 claims, 56 paid, $1,461,649 in total2016: 426 claims, 216 paid, $5,581,608 in total2017: 1,776 claims, 1,116 paid, $35,959,867 in total2018: 395 claims, 230 paid, $22,230,433 in total2019: 1,236 claims, 956 paid, $38,780,206 in total2020: 120 claims, 55 paid, $1,235,568 in total20202021: 297 claims, 174 paid, $6,693,801 in total2022: 483 claims, 341 paid, $20,320,219 in total2023: 1,815 claims, 1,150 paid, $64,898,271 in total2024: 583 claims, 398 paid, $32,058,966 in total2025: 255 claims, 148 paid, $9,216,786 in total2026: 136 claims, 84 paid, $7,438,801 in total
Flood claims per year of loss, 1978–2026. Years with fewer than 10 claims are left blank. Hover a bar for details.
All years with at least 10 claims (49)

Swipe the table sideways to see all columns.

Year of lossClaimsPaid claimsTotal paidAverage per paid claim
202613684$7,438,801$88,557
2025255148$9,216,786$62,276
2024583398$32,058,966$80,550
20231,8151,150$64,898,271$56,433
2022483341$20,320,219$59,590
2021297174$6,693,801$38,470
202012055$1,235,568$22,465
20191,236956$38,780,206$40,565
2018395230$22,230,433$96,654
20171,7761,116$35,959,867$32,222
2016426216$5,581,608$25,841
201512556$1,461,649$26,101
2014563368$15,018,180$40,810
20137627$1,308,220$48,453
2012278148$3,036,708$20,518
2011275115$3,031,030$26,357
2010826487$11,915,184$24,466
200915366$1,375,815$20,846
2008274162$3,738,615$23,078
20075417$284,091$16,711
2006642489$14,797,899$30,262
20052,9782,413$91,668,776$37,990
2004506328$6,334,800$19,313
2003236125$1,864,234$14,914
2002460283$7,819,129$27,629
2001511250$2,866,530$11,466
2000448196$1,646,363$8,400
199921778$1,130,546$14,494
19986,7684,502$60,721,181$13,488
19973,1152,291$44,131,543$19,263
1996940596$8,318,409$13,957
19958,2615,639$116,147,147$20,597
1994215101$1,305,322$12,924
19931,291704$6,730,943$9,561
1992823470$4,130,156$8,788
1991267126$1,199,995$9,524
19905317$95,597$5,623
19897326$229,804$8,839
1988499300$4,118,279$13,728
198711635$179,011$5,115
19862,6272,097$35,554,143$16,955
198511838$231,035$6,080
198419783$665,631$8,020
19834,6523,134$30,841,614$9,841
19822,1251,489$12,925,515$8,681
1981606388$1,787,291$4,606
19802,8461,870$12,410,660$6,637
1979629381$2,067,849$5,427
19781,198754$3,734,245$4,953

From 2016 to 2026: 7,522 claims (counting only years with at least 10). 2026 is a partial year. Claims are counted where the insured property is; they include buildings and contents, homes and businesses.

Counties in California

Counties with at least 100 NFIP home policies in force have their own page.

Other counties (fewer policies, no separate page)
CountyHome policiesMedian
Amador County95$1,382
Del Norte County86$1,304
Imperial County33$1,147
Inyo County43$1,114
Lassen County54$2,128
Modoc County54$1,161
Plumas County75$1,833
San Benito County97$1,416
Sierra County37$2,346
Trinity County55$1,335
Tuolumne County35$1,197

ZIP codes with the most insured homes