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Flood insurance cost · Cook County, IL

Flood insurance cost in Cook County, Illinois

What homeowners with a National Flood Insurance Program policy actually pay, from FEMA's records of 5,991 home policies in force on August 31, 2026.

Cook County, IllinoisPolicies in force on Aug 31, 2026

Median annual cost of NFIP flood insurance for a home

$1,164a year

Half of insured homes paid between $812 and $1,528. That is about the same as the Illinois median ($1,146). Most insured homes here are rated in zone AE (54%).

$0$812 · $1,164 · $1,528$1,910
+8.9% vs Aug 31, 2025 (median $1,069)
5,991home policies in force
$1,265average cost (mean)
62%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 Cook 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 zoneMedianMiddle half (25th–75th percentile)AveragePoliciesvs last year
Zone VE / V
High risk, coastal		$621$457–$753$81217 (0%)+1.5%
Zone AE
High risk		$1,342$982–$1,797$1,4643,210 (54%)+2.9%
Zone A
High risk		$935$762–$1,613$1,278301 (5%)+3.9%
Zone AO
High risk, shallow		$366$344–$919$71415 (0%)−34.4%
Zone AH
High risk, shallow		$1,554$1,141–$2,040$1,657181 (3%)+3.5%
Zone X
Moderate to low risk		$931$645–$1,204$9582,267 (38%)+3.8%

Not shown (fewer than 10 home policies): 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 Cook County, by what they insure.

Type of buildingPoliciesMedianAverage
Single-family home5,498$1,182$1,284
2–4 unit building163$1,552$1,761
Condo or apartment unit323$574$704
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.		276$3,972$7,674
Non-residential building or unit
Businesses, churches, farm buildings and other non-residential property.		424$3,712$5,283

Not shown (fewer than 10 policies): manufactured (mobile) home.

6,691NFIP policies in force, any building
11,569insured units (condo association policies count every unit)
58%of home policies also cover contents
$100,000median contents coverage, when bought

One year on: Cook 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, 2025Aug 31, 2026Change
Home policies in force6,1945,991−3.3%
Median annual cost$1,069$1,164+8.9%
Average annual cost$1,204$1,265+5.1%
All policies in force (any building)6,9156,691−3.2%

How many homes have flood insurance?

0.5%of all homes in Cook County have an NFIP policy
32.0%of homes in high-risk zones (special flood hazard area) have one
1,241,949residential buildings counted by FEMA
12,558of 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 Cook County, Illinois have filed 15,278 flood claims. 10,989 received a payment, for a total of $139.8 million (an average of $12,726 per paid claim). The year with the most claims was 2008 (2,048 claims). Amounts are in dollars of the time, not adjusted for inflation.

01k2k3k4k1978: 101 claims, 73 paid, $144,054 in total1979: 350 claims, 233 paid, $922,800 in total1980: 103 claims, 43 paid, $101,039 in total19801981: 714 claims, 586 paid, $2,004,884 in total1982: 931 claims, 649 paid, $2,333,486 in total1983: 299 claims, 183 paid, $553,201 in total1984: 47 claims, 16 paid, $65,331 in total1985: 115 claims, 32 paid, $128,386 in total1986: 195 claims, 132 paid, $2,253,175 in total1987: 939 claims, 734 paid, $8,537,197 in total1988: 16 claims1989: 146 claims, 58 paid, $323,213 in total1990: 277 claims, 123 paid, $712,685 in total19901991: 62 claims, 22 paid, $60,237 in total1992: 20 claims1993: 97 claims, 29 paid, $271,143 in total1994: 35 claims, 12 paid, $59,397 in total1995: 36 claims1996: 625 claims, 362 paid, $2,119,381 in total1997: 547 claims, 348 paid, $1,692,784 in total1998: 55 claims, 31 paid, $111,449 in total1999: 95 claims, 37 paid, $187,033 in total2000: 62 claims, 15 paid, $53,543 in total20002001: 266 claims, 163 paid, $646,946 in total2002: 138 claims, 88 paid, $320,411 in total2003: 210 claims, 135 paid, $503,172 in total2004: 66 claims, 39 paid, $154,177 in total2005: 34 claims, 14 paid, $70,884 in total2006: 356 claims, 233 paid, $2,333,765 in total2007: 330 claims, 242 paid, $2,199,794 in total2008: 2,048 claims, 1,713 paid, $33,837,196 in total20082009: 117 claims, 81 paid, $610,165 in total2010: 1,559 claims, 1,330 paid, $18,054,988 in total201020102011: 608 claims, 446 paid, $7,289,421 in total2012: 41 claims, 15 paid, $86,326 in total2013: 1,981 claims, 1,687 paid, $35,669,068 in total20132014: 384 claims, 254 paid, $2,177,973 in total2015: 215 claims, 149 paid, $2,083,293 in total2016: 68 claims, 45 paid, $584,208 in total2017: 140 claims, 91 paid, $1,062,881 in total2018: 86 claims, 55 paid, $1,011,322 in total2019: 85 claims, 56 paid, $912,446 in total2020: 290 claims, 208 paid, $4,919,026 in total20202021: 67 claims, 43 paid, $641,125 in total2022: 23 claims, 12 paid, $498,925 in total2023: 124 claims, 75 paid, $638,827 in total2024: 41 claims, 20 paid, $153,523 in total2025: 43 claims, 21 paid, $326,534 in total2026: 91 claims, 44 paid, $341,616 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
20269144$341,616$7,764
20254321$326,534$15,549
20244120$153,523$7,676
202312475$638,827$8,518
20222312$498,925$41,577
20216743$641,125$14,910
2020290208$4,919,026$23,649
20198556$912,446$16,294
20188655$1,011,322$18,388
201714091$1,062,881$11,680
20166845$584,208$12,982
2015215149$2,083,293$13,982
2014384254$2,177,973$8,575
20131,9811,687$35,669,068$21,143
20124115$86,326$5,755
2011608446$7,289,421$16,344
20101,5591,330$18,054,988$13,575
200911781$610,165$7,533
20082,0481,713$33,837,196$19,753
2007330242$2,199,794$9,090
2006356233$2,333,765$10,016
20053414$70,884$5,063
20046639$154,177$3,953
2003210135$503,172$3,727
200213888$320,411$3,641
2001266163$646,946$3,969
20006215$53,543$3,570
19999537$187,033$5,055
19985531$111,449$3,595
1997547348$1,692,784$4,864
1996625362$2,119,381$5,855
199536<10––
19943512$59,397$4,950
19939729$271,143$9,350
199220<10––
19916222$60,237$2,738
1990277123$712,685$5,794
198914658$323,213$5,573
198816<10––
1987939734$8,537,197$11,631
1986195132$2,253,175$17,070
198511532$128,386$4,012
19844716$65,331$4,083
1983299183$553,201$3,023
1982931649$2,333,486$3,596
1981714586$2,004,884$3,421
198010343$101,039$2,350
1979350233$922,800$3,961
197810173$144,054$1,973

From 2016 to 2026: 1,058 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 Cook County

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

Main NFIP communities in the county

Chicago (647 home policies) · Bellwood (439 home policies) · Des Plaines (377 home policies) · Unincorporated Cook County (309 home policies) · Westchester (293 home policies) · Winnetka (287 home policies)