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Flood insurance cost · Essex County, NJ

Flood insurance cost in Essex County, New Jersey

What homeowners with a National Flood Insurance Program policy actually pay, from FEMA's records of 2,676 home policies in force on August 31, 2026.

Essex County, New JerseyPolicies in force on Aug 31, 2026

Median annual cost of NFIP flood insurance for a home

$1,170a year

Half of insured homes paid between $834 and $1,634. That is 12% less than the New Jersey median ($1,328). Most insured homes here are rated in zone AE (63%).

$0$834 · $1,170 · $1,634$2,042
+12.1% vs Aug 31, 2025 (median $1,044)
2,676home policies in force
$1,490average cost (mean)
67%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 Essex 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 AE
High risk		$1,235$907–$1,931$1,6751,681 (63%)+5.8%
Zone A
High risk		$1,003$728–$1,614$1,27768 (3%)+10.8%
Zone AO
High risk, shallow		$2,099$1,542–$2,560$2,11348 (2%)+5.7%
Zone X
Moderate to low risk		$1,030$676–$1,346$1,120879 (33%)+6.8%

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

Type of buildingPoliciesMedianAverage
Single-family home2,234$1,114$1,418
2–4 unit building374$1,633$2,056
Condo or apartment unit68$645$766
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.		123$2,950$5,321
Non-residential building or unit
Businesses, churches, farm buildings and other non-residential property.		657$3,305$4,515

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

3,456NFIP policies in force, any building
4,124insured units (condo association policies count every unit)
62%of home policies also cover contents
$100,000median contents coverage, when bought

One year on: Essex 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 force2,7882,676−4.0%
Median annual cost$1,044$1,170+12.1%
Average annual cost$1,405$1,490+6.0%
All policies in force (any building)3,6143,456−4.4%

How many homes have flood insurance?

1.9%of all homes in Essex County have an NFIP policy
50.5%of homes in high-risk zones (special flood hazard area) have one
146,486residential buildings counted by FEMA
3,710of 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 Essex County, New Jersey have filed 5,850 flood claims. 4,664 received a payment, for a total of $163.8 million (an average of $35,120 per paid claim). The year with the most claims was 2011 (1,541 claims). Amounts are in dollars of the time, not adjusted for inflation.

05001k1.5k2k1978: 116 claims, 72 paid, $211,717 in total1979: 174 claims, 133 paid, $271,712 in total1980: 64 claims, 42 paid, $76,132 in total19801981: 100 claims, 75 paid, $401,179 in total1982: 28 claims, 17 paid, $30,359 in total1983: 152 claims, 82 paid, $333,439 in total1984: 281 claims, 222 paid, $2,530,202 in total1985: 16 claims1986: 20 claims, 10 paid, $60,854 in total1987: 24 claims, 20 paid, $44,849 in total1988: 15 claims1989: 82 claims, 47 paid, $273,448 in total19901991: 13 claims1992: 31 claims, 19 paid, $171,454 in total1993: 31 claims, 17 paid, $149,052 in total1994: 24 claims, 13 paid, $54,915 in total1995: 18 claims, 10 paid, $211,501 in total1996: 78 claims, 56 paid, $497,335 in total1997: 54 claims, 39 paid, $1,033,311 in total1998: 15 claims1999: 635 claims, 530 paid, $10,167,725 in total199920002001: 33 claims, 28 paid, $1,151,370 in total2002: 13 claims, 10 paid, $54,001 in total2005: 80 claims, 63 paid, $879,109 in total2006: 21 claims, 15 paid, $248,839 in total2007: 502 claims, 421 paid, $8,546,188 in total2008: 17 claims, 13 paid, $43,186 in total2009: 15 claims, 10 paid, $84,246 in total2010: 273 claims, 233 paid, $5,659,376 in total20102011: 1,541 claims, 1,347 paid, $60,703,964 in total20112012: 114 claims, 85 paid, $16,449,576 in total2013: 11 claims2014: 34 claims, 17 paid, $600,634 in total2018: 75 claims, 57 paid, $1,823,800 in total2019: 16 claims2020: 13 claims20202021: 879 claims, 774 paid, $47,605,603 in total20212022: 17 claims2023: 78 claims, 50 paid, $893,057 in total2024: 90 claims, 71 paid, $1,843,943 in total2026: 10 claims
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 (41)

Swipe the table sideways to see all columns.

Year of lossClaimsPaid claimsTotal paidAverage per paid claim
202610<10––
20249071$1,843,943$25,971
20237850$893,057$17,861
202217<10––
2021879774$47,605,603$61,506
202013<10––
201916<10––
20187557$1,823,800$31,996
20143417$600,634$35,331
201311<10––
201211485$16,449,576$193,524
20111,5411,347$60,703,964$45,066
2010273233$5,659,376$24,289
20091510$84,246$8,425
20081713$43,186$3,322
2007502421$8,546,188$20,300
20062115$248,839$16,589
20058063$879,109$13,954
20021310$54,001$5,400
20013328$1,151,370$41,120
1999635530$10,167,725$19,184
199815<10––
19975439$1,033,311$26,495
19967856$497,335$8,881
19951810$211,501$21,150
19942413$54,915$4,224
19933117$149,052$8,768
19923119$171,454$9,024
199113<10––
19898247$273,448$5,818
198815<10––
19872420$44,849$2,242
19862010$60,854$6,085
198516<10––
1984281222$2,530,202$11,397
198315282$333,439$4,066
19822817$30,359$1,786
198110075$401,179$5,349
19806442$76,132$1,813
1979174133$271,712$2,043
197811672$211,717$2,941

From 2016 to 2026: 1,178 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 Essex County

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

Main NFIP communities in the county

Fairfield (783 home policies) · Bloomfield (307 home policies) · Montclair (241 home policies) · Orange Township (170 home policies) · Millburn (160 home policies) · Livingston (151 home policies)