Flood insurance cost · Merced County, CA

Flood insurance cost in Merced County, California

What homeowners with a National Flood Insurance Program policy actually pay, from FEMA's records of 3,749 home policies in force on August 31, 2026.

Merced County, CaliforniaPolicies in force on Aug 31, 2026

Median annual cost of NFIP flood insurance for a home

$835a year

Half of insured homes paid between $650 and $1,080. That is 23% less than the California median ($1,079). Most insured homes here are rated in zone AO (71%).

$0$650 · $835 · $1,080$1,350

+10.7% vs Aug 31, 2025 (median $754)

3,749home policies in force

$937average cost (mean)

95%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.

Cost by flood zone in Merced County

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 zone	Median	Middle half (25th–75th percentile)	Average	Policies	vs last year
Zone AE High risk	$1,246	$877–$1,699	$1,350	245 (7%)	+16.7%
Zone A High risk	$1,016	$738–$1,467	$1,257	315 (8%)	+6.1%
Zone AO High risk, shallow	$797	$618–$1,012	$861	2,679 (71%)	+9.5%
Zone AH High risk, shallow	$768	$611–$919	$834	329 (9%)	+6.4%
Zone X Moderate to low risk	$1,080	$873–$1,260	$1,133	180 (5%)	+16.0%

Not shown (fewer than 10 home policies): VE, A99/AR, D. 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 Merced County, by what they insure.

Type of building	Policies	Median	Average
Single-family home	3,559	$832	$934
2–4 unit building	135	$955	$1,038
Manufactured (mobile) home	45	$879	$951
Condo or apartment unit	10	$755	$713
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.	154	$1,953	$2,317
Non-residential building or unit Businesses, churches, farm buildings and other non-residential property.	481	$1,019	$1,291

4,384NFIP policies in force, any building

4,419insured units (condo association policies count every unit)

20%of home policies also cover contents

$100,000median contents coverage, when bought

One year on: Merced County

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, 2025	Aug 31, 2026	Change
Home policies in force	3,921	3,749	−4.4%
Median annual cost	$754	$835	+10.7%
Average annual cost	$867	$937	+8.1%
All policies in force (any building)	4,563	4,384	−3.9%

How many homes have flood insurance?

5.2%of all homes in Merced County have an NFIP policy

24.3%of homes in high-risk zones (special flood hazard area) have one

74,382residential buildings counted by FEMA

15,210of them in high-risk zones

FEMA NFIP Residential Penetration Rates, data as of August 3, 2026: residential contracts in force divided by residential structures.

Flood claims history

Since 1978, NFIP policyholders in Merced County, California have filed 499 flood claims. 352 received a payment, for a total of $14.7 million (an average of $41,735 per paid claim). The year with the most claims was 2023 (203 claims). Amounts are in dollars of the time, not adjusted for inflation.

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 (5)

Swipe the table sideways to see all columns.

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Total paid	Average per paid claim
2023	203	162	$10,114,165	$62,433
2006	102	81	$2,390,329	$29,510
2005	12	<10	–	–
1998	94	69	$1,676,831	$24,302
1995	10	<10	–	–

From 2016 to 2026: 203 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.

ZIP codes in Merced County

ZIP codes with at least 300 NFIP home policies in force have their own page.

Main NFIP communities in the county

Merced (2,579 home policies) · Unincorporated Merced County (1,143 home policies) · Atwater (13 home policies) · Los Banos (10 home policies)