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Flood insurance cost · Cape May County, NJ

Flood insurance cost in Cape May County, New Jersey

What homeowners with a National Flood Insurance Program policy actually pay, from FEMA's records of 17,660 home policies in force on August 31, 2026.

Cape May County, New JerseyPolicies in force on Aug 31, 2026

Median annual cost of NFIP flood insurance for a home

$1,371a year

Half of insured homes paid between $1,057 and $1,838. That is 3% more than the New Jersey median ($1,328). Most insured homes here are rated in zone AE (90%).

$0$1,057 · $1,371 · $1,838$2,298
+11.3% vs Aug 31, 2025 (median $1,232)
17,660home policies in force
$1,522average cost (mean)
91%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 Cape May 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		$1,473$1,160–$1,948$1,720150 (1%)+13.5%
Zone AE
High risk		$1,388$1,056–$1,894$1,54915,909 (90%)+10.9%
Zone AO
High risk, shallow		$1,312$1,111–$1,778$1,53134 (0%)+12.9%
Zone X
Moderate to low risk		$1,286$1,068–$1,458$1,2331,564 (9%)+11.3%

Not shown (fewer than 10 home policies): A, AH, 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 Cape May County, by what they insure.

Type of buildingPoliciesMedianAverage
Single-family home14,418$1,396$1,559
2–4 unit building2,042$1,550$1,684
Manufactured (mobile) home25$1,277$1,462
Condo or apartment unit1,175$637$782
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.		8,267$1,916$2,645
Non-residential building or unit
Businesses, churches, farm buildings and other non-residential property.		952$3,555$4,309
26,879NFIP policies in force, any building
47,460insured units (condo association policies count every unit)
72%of home policies also cover contents
$99,000median contents coverage, when bought

One year on: Cape May 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 force18,32317,660−3.6%
Median annual cost$1,232$1,371+11.3%
Average annual cost$1,396$1,522+9.0%
All policies in force (any building)27,69726,879−3.0%

How many homes have flood insurance?

40.1%of all homes in Cape May County have an NFIP policy
74.4%of homes in high-risk zones (special flood hazard area) have one
64,831residential buildings counted by FEMA
32,391of 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 Cape May County, New Jersey have filed 28,100 flood claims. 22,782 received a payment, for a total of $415.1 million (an average of $18,221 per paid claim). The year with the most claims was 2012 (10,136 claims). Amounts are in dollars of the time, not adjusted for inflation.

05k10k15k20k1978: 32 claims, 17 paid, $27,847 in total1979: 154 claims, 107 paid, $111,587 in total1980: 851 claims, 706 paid, $1,979,817 in total19801981: 47 claims, 25 paid, $62,119 in total1982: 14 claims1983: 37 claims, 19 paid, $78,859 in total1984: 2,136 claims, 1,600 paid, $8,009,329 in total19841985: 1,795 claims, 1,445 paid, $10,053,215 in total1986: 45 claims, 22 paid, $166,302 in total1987: 205 claims, 142 paid, $1,052,078 in total1989: 66 claims, 32 paid, $336,179 in total1990: 10 claims19901991: 538 claims, 440 paid, $4,082,636 in total1992: 4,916 claims, 4,210 paid, $41,195,653 in total19921993: 121 claims, 79 paid, $802,011 in total1994: 1,332 claims, 1,071 paid, $8,981,562 in total1995: 42 claims, 20 paid, $301,220 in total1996: 366 claims, 281 paid, $2,466,822 in total1997: 68 claims, 46 paid, $543,679 in total1998: 1,971 claims, 1,549 paid, $18,584,562 in total1999: 31 claims2000: 88 claims, 62 paid, $521,912 in total20002001: 12 claims2002: 30 claims, 10 paid, $40,255 in total2003: 134 claims, 74 paid, $551,561 in total2004: 28 claims2005: 22 claims2006: 44 claims, 33 paid, $446,286 in total2008: 192 claims, 139 paid, $1,647,829 in total2009: 624 claims, 488 paid, $8,132,302 in total2010: 113 claims, 62 paid, $391,136 in total20102011: 226 claims, 155 paid, $2,135,254 in total2012: 10,136 claims, 8,693 paid, $276,399,779 in total20122013: 38 claims, 14 paid, $87,239 in total2014: 21 claims2015: 43 claims, 15 paid, $217,160 in total2016: 1,326 claims, 1,044 paid, $23,293,236 in total2017: 32 claims, 18 paid, $145,859 in total2018: 66 claims, 47 paid, $504,651 in total2019: 17 claims2020: 24 claims, 13 paid, $113,932 in total20202021: 26 claims, 13 paid, $685,529 in total2022: 14 claims2024: 15 claims2025: 25 claims, 17 paid, $296,894 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
20252517$296,894$17,464
202415<10––
202214<10––
20212613$685,529$52,733
20202413$113,932$8,764
201917<10––
20186647$504,651$10,737
20173218$145,859$8,103
20161,3261,044$23,293,236$22,312
20154315$217,160$14,477
201421<10––
20133814$87,239$6,231
201210,1368,693$276,399,779$31,796
2011226155$2,135,254$13,776
201011362$391,136$6,309
2009624488$8,132,302$16,665
2008192139$1,647,829$11,855
20064433$446,286$13,524
200522<10––
200428<10––
200313474$551,561$7,454
20023010$40,255$4,026
200112<10––
20008862$521,912$8,418
199931<10––
19981,9711,549$18,584,562$11,998
19976846$543,679$11,819
1996366281$2,466,822$8,779
19954220$301,220$15,061
19941,3321,071$8,981,562$8,386
199312179$802,011$10,152
19924,9164,210$41,195,653$9,785
1991538440$4,082,636$9,279
199010<10––
19896632$336,179$10,506
1987205142$1,052,078$7,409
19864522$166,302$7,559
19851,7951,445$10,053,215$6,957
19842,1361,600$8,009,329$5,006
19833719$78,859$4,150
198214<10––
19814725$62,119$2,485
1980851706$1,979,817$2,804
1979154107$111,587$1,043
19783217$27,847$1,638

From 2016 to 2026: 1,545 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 Cape May County

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

Main NFIP communities in the county

Ocean City (4,553 home policies) · Avalon (2,656 home policies) · North Wildwood (1,631 home policies) · Stone Harbor (1,405 home policies) · Wildwood Crest (1,268 home policies) · Cape May (1,153 home policies)