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Flood insurance cost · IA

Flood insurance cost in Iowa

What homeowners with a National Flood Insurance Program policy actually pay, from FEMA's records of 6,022 home policies in force on August 31, 2026.

IowaPolicies in force on Aug 31, 2026

Median annual cost of NFIP flood insurance for a home

$1,054a year

Half of insured homes paid between $721 and $1,398. That is 3% less than the national median ($1,082). The most common flood zone for insured homes here is zone AE (43%).

$0$721 · $1,054 · $1,398$1,748
+8.0% vs Aug 31, 2025 (median $976)
6,022home policies in force
$1,175average cost (mean)
64%of insured homes in high-risk zones (A, V)
$168,000median 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 Iowa, county by county.

Cost by flood zone in Iowa

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 AE
High risk		$1,143$795–$1,585$1,3272,587 (43%)+6.8%
Zone A
High risk		$1,094$776–$1,493$1,311836 (14%)+6.4%
Zone AO
High risk, shallow		$770$651–$868$85234 (1%)+6.1%
Zone AH
High risk, shallow		$714$558–$884$804395 (7%)+4.1%
Zone X
Moderate to low risk		$1,031$674–$1,269$1,0142,170 (36%)+11.3%

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 Iowa, by what they insure.

Type of buildingPoliciesMedianAverage
Single-family home5,574$1,066$1,185
2–4 unit building153$1,216$1,337
Manufactured (mobile) home155$978$1,029
Condo or apartment unit140$653$770
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.		259$2,255$3,367
Non-residential building or unit
Businesses, churches, farm buildings and other non-residential property.		2,074$2,206$3,203
8,355NFIP policies in force, any building
8,763insured units (condo association policies count every unit)
60%of home policies also cover contents
$75,000median contents coverage, when bought

One year on: Iowa

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 force6,4286,022−6.3%
Median annual cost$976$1,054+8.0%
Average annual cost$1,099$1,175+6.9%
All policies in force (any building)8,9548,355−6.7%

Flood claims history

Since 1978, NFIP policyholders in Iowa have filed 14,788 flood claims. 11,906 received a payment, for a total of $358.2 million (an average of $30,089 per paid claim). The year with the most claims was 2008 (3,267 claims). Amounts are in dollars of the time, not adjusted for inflation.

01k2k3k4k1978: 63 claims, 40 paid, $178,842 in total1979: 341 claims, 254 paid, $646,941 in total1980: 76 claims, 53 paid, $165,820 in total19801981: 40 claims, 26 paid, $29,216 in total1982: 212 claims, 154 paid, $444,961 in total1983: 126 claims, 72 paid, $166,153 in total1984: 116 claims, 61 paid, $401,800 in total1985: 11 claims1986: 177 claims, 124 paid, $706,235 in total1987: 90 claims, 60 paid, $202,662 in total1990: 874 claims, 666 paid, $8,375,249 in total19901991: 123 claims, 86 paid, $679,082 in total1992: 18 claims, 12 paid, $27,685 in total1993: 1,789 claims, 1,425 paid, $26,190,093 in total19931994: 11 claims1996: 185 claims, 140 paid, $2,402,327 in total1997: 175 claims, 147 paid, $1,206,016 in total1998: 201 claims, 135 paid, $1,622,243 in total1999: 1,121 claims, 841 paid, $8,024,140 in total19992000: 29 claims, 20 paid, $275,907 in total20002001: 439 claims, 360 paid, $6,137,595 in total2002: 163 claims, 124 paid, $1,041,865 in total2003: 15 claims2004: 245 claims, 200 paid, $2,939,626 in total2005: 13 claims2006: 11 claims2007: 245 claims, 200 paid, $4,109,457 in total2008: 3,267 claims, 2,961 paid, $169,193,245 in total20082009: 94 claims, 68 paid, $1,732,154 in total2010: 698 claims, 564 paid, $19,652,346 in total20102011: 504 claims, 343 paid, $12,598,907 in total2012: 18 claims2013: 444 claims, 351 paid, $4,159,539 in total2014: 603 claims, 497 paid, $10,104,026 in total2015: 114 claims, 85 paid, $3,124,071 in total2016: 661 claims, 549 paid, $11,472,078 in total2017: 66 claims, 56 paid, $1,663,718 in total2018: 327 claims, 276 paid, $12,389,775 in total2019: 589 claims, 520 paid, $27,043,871 in total2020: 35 claims, 28 paid, $316,394 in total20202021: 33 claims, 24 paid, $336,647 in total2023: 77 claims, 61 paid, $1,259,705 in total2024: 254 claims, 228 paid, $14,319,083 in total2025: 35 claims, 26 paid, $818,064 in total2026: 44 claims, 29 paid, $1,898,809 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 (45)

Swipe the table sideways to see all columns.

Year of lossClaimsPaid claimsTotal paidAverage per paid claim
20264429$1,898,809$65,476
20253526$818,064$31,464
2024254228$14,319,083$62,803
20237761$1,259,705$20,651
20213324$336,647$14,027
20203528$316,394$11,300
2019589520$27,043,871$52,007
2018327276$12,389,775$44,890
20176656$1,663,718$29,709
2016661549$11,472,078$20,896
201511485$3,124,071$36,754
2014603497$10,104,026$20,330
2013444351$4,159,539$11,851
201218<10––
2011504343$12,598,907$36,732
2010698564$19,652,346$34,845
20099468$1,732,154$25,473
20083,2672,961$169,193,245$57,141
2007245200$4,109,457$20,547
200611<10––
200513<10––
2004245200$2,939,626$14,698
200315<10––
2002163124$1,041,865$8,402
2001439360$6,137,595$17,049
20002920$275,907$13,795
19991,121841$8,024,140$9,541
1998201135$1,622,243$12,017
1997175147$1,206,016$8,204
1996185140$2,402,327$17,159
199411<10––
19931,7891,425$26,190,093$18,379
19921812$27,685$2,307
199112386$679,082$7,896
1990874666$8,375,249$12,575
19879060$202,662$3,378
1986177124$706,235$5,695
198511<10––
198411661$401,800$6,587
198312672$166,153$2,308
1982212154$444,961$2,889
19814026$29,216$1,124
19807653$165,820$3,129
1979341254$646,941$2,547
19786340$178,842$4,471

From 2016 to 2026: 2,121 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 Iowa

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

Other counties (fewer policies, no separate page)
CountyHome policiesMedian
Allamakee County29$1,399
Benton County69$1,084
Boone County23$1,260
Buchanan County65$1,317
Buena Vista County10$723
Carroll County13$1,120
Cass County19$1,186
Cedar County26$1,398
Cerro Gordo County76$1,252
Cherokee County23$1,337
Chickasaw County29$1,414
Clay County50$948
Clayton County85$1,302
Dallas County76$840
Delaware County66$1,452
Dickinson County26$1,476
Dubuque County74$1,220
Fayette County35$1,087
Floyd County82$1,196
Fremont County62$1,199
Guthrie County17$1,371
Hardin County28$1,288
Howard County13$732
Humboldt County12$1,542
Iowa County96$606
Jackson County24$1,316
Jasper County21$1,094
Jones County40$1,270
Lee County36$1,259
Louisa County97$1,198
Lyon County13$1,408
Mahaska County12$1,316
Marshall County26$1,078
Mills County44$1,228
Monona County25$1,015
Montgomery County78$844
Plymouth County16$834
Pocahontas County19$1,019
Shelby County18$864
Sioux County42$1,355
Story County76$980
Tama County35$896
Union County14$1,112
Van Buren County29$1,401
Wapello County23$1,202
Warren County30$876
Washington County82$1,023
Webster County23$1,398
Winneshiek County57$1,339
Wright County15$1,228

ZIP codes with the most insured homes