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Flood insurance cost · SC

Flood insurance cost in South Carolina

What homeowners with a National Flood Insurance Program policy actually pay, from FEMA's records of 114,439 home policies in force on August 31, 2026.

South CarolinaPolicies in force on Aug 31, 2026

Median annual cost of NFIP flood insurance for a home

$949a year

Half of insured homes paid between $663 and $1,259. That is 12% less than the national median ($1,082). Most insured homes here are rated in zone AE (52%).

$0$663 · $949 · $1,259$1,574
+9.7% vs Aug 31, 2025 (median $865)
114,439home policies in force
$1,168average cost (mean)
55%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.

Disaster declarations: see FEMA declarations and IRS tax relief in South Carolina, county by county.

Cost by flood zone in South Carolina

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		$2,123$1,172–$4,668$3,1851,603 (1%)+10.6%
Zone AE
High risk		$1,119$891–$1,479$1,43360,046 (52%)+12.3%
Zone A
High risk		$826$672–$1,120$1,016620 (1%)+5.1%
Zone AO
High risk, shallow		$1,410$1,147–$3,097$2,626126 (0%)+13.3%
Zone AH
High risk, shallow		$767$656–$1,745$1,23718 (0%)+1.1%
Zone X
Moderate to low risk		$697$538–$996$79752,026 (45%)+2.0%

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 South Carolina, by what they insure.

Type of buildingPoliciesMedianAverage
Single-family home108,523$958$1,174
2–4 unit building1,510$1,208$1,695
Manufactured (mobile) home1,237$866$1,153
Condo or apartment unit3,169$567$700
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.		6,308$2,797$5,395
Non-residential building or unit
Businesses, churches, farm buildings and other non-residential property.		5,383$2,145$3,120
126,130NFIP policies in force, any building
188,240insured units (condo association policies count every unit)
87%of home policies also cover contents
$100,000median contents coverage, when bought

One year on: South Carolina

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 force121,850114,439−6.1%
Median annual cost$865$949+9.7%
Average annual cost$1,072$1,168+9.0%
All policies in force (any building)133,853126,130−5.8%

Flood claims history

Since 1978, NFIP policyholders in South Carolina have filed 49,622 flood claims. 34,826 received a payment, for a total of $1.0 billion (an average of $29,810 per paid claim). The year with the most claims was 1989 (14,879 claims). Amounts are in dollars of the time, not adjusted for inflation.

05k10k15k20k1978: 26 claims, 12 paid, $12,688 in total1979: 891 claims, 585 paid, $1,586,041 in total1980: 52 claims, 19 paid, $48,957 in total19801981: 106 claims, 52 paid, $90,348 in total1982: 189 claims, 111 paid, $215,227 in total1983: 168 claims, 106 paid, $440,796 in total1984: 87 claims, 51 paid, $213,188 in total1985: 134 claims, 65 paid, $216,311 in total1986: 256 claims, 163 paid, $1,195,531 in total1987: 1,579 claims, 1,203 paid, $5,742,418 in total1988: 155 claims, 93 paid, $335,136 in total1989: 14,879 claims, 11,021 paid, $361,858,956 in total19891990: 203 claims, 126 paid, $643,618 in total19901991: 105 claims, 51 paid, $292,500 in total1992: 139 claims, 86 paid, $519,104 in total1993: 294 claims, 189 paid, $1,191,576 in total1994: 1,322 claims, 853 paid, $5,945,726 in total1995: 319 claims, 215 paid, $2,152,374 in total1996: 1,175 claims, 312 paid, $3,270,772 in total1997: 228 claims, 143 paid, $1,225,809 in total1998: 1,018 claims, 381 paid, $3,106,885 in total1999: 2,346 claims, 1,074 paid, $21,901,356 in total2000: 172 claims, 122 paid, $1,334,214 in total20002001: 150 claims, 108 paid, $1,783,022 in total2002: 172 claims, 106 paid, $1,181,662 in total2003: 177 claims, 102 paid, $1,198,120 in total2004: 401 claims, 256 paid, $5,691,928 in total2005: 233 claims, 174 paid, $2,222,731 in total2006: 50 claims, 27 paid, $408,379 in total2007: 55 claims, 29 paid, $315,792 in total2008: 245 claims, 188 paid, $4,792,951 in total2009: 167 claims, 108 paid, $1,129,582 in total2010: 130 claims, 70 paid, $1,166,176 in total20102011: 105 claims, 57 paid, $1,298,291 in total2012: 146 claims, 92 paid, $1,660,359 in total2013: 289 claims, 186 paid, $3,397,389 in total2014: 140 claims, 78 paid, $1,653,045 in total2015: 5,710 claims, 4,242 paid, $146,995,650 in total20152016: 7,265 claims, 5,206 paid, $169,434,832 in total20162017: 2,565 claims, 2,125 paid, $57,255,992 in total2018: 1,699 claims, 1,460 paid, $109,410,154 in total2019: 227 claims, 134 paid, $2,173,639 in total2020: 781 claims, 633 paid, $14,972,521 in total20202021: 277 claims, 196 paid, $4,968,226 in total2022: 1,245 claims, 1,043 paid, $48,945,321 in total2023: 541 claims, 411 paid, $14,094,057 in total2024: 899 claims, 696 paid, $26,182,542 in total2025: 91 claims, 58 paid, $2,146,398 in total2026: 19 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 (49)

Swipe the table sideways to see all columns.

Year of lossClaimsPaid claimsTotal paidAverage per paid claim
202619<10––
20259158$2,146,398$37,007
2024899696$26,182,542$37,619
2023541411$14,094,057$34,292
20221,2451,043$48,945,321$46,927
2021277196$4,968,226$25,348
2020781633$14,972,521$23,653
2019227134$2,173,639$16,221
20181,6991,460$109,410,154$74,938
20172,5652,125$57,255,992$26,944
20167,2655,206$169,434,832$32,546
20155,7104,242$146,995,650$34,652
201414078$1,653,045$21,193
2013289186$3,397,389$18,266
201214692$1,660,359$18,047
201110557$1,298,291$22,777
201013070$1,166,176$16,660
2009167108$1,129,582$10,459
2008245188$4,792,951$25,494
20075529$315,792$10,889
20065027$408,379$15,125
2005233174$2,222,731$12,774
2004401256$5,691,928$22,234
2003177102$1,198,120$11,746
2002172106$1,181,662$11,148
2001150108$1,783,022$16,509
2000172122$1,334,214$10,936
19992,3461,074$21,901,356$20,392
19981,018381$3,106,885$8,155
1997228143$1,225,809$8,572
19961,175312$3,270,772$10,483
1995319215$2,152,374$10,011
19941,322853$5,945,726$6,970
1993294189$1,191,576$6,305
199213986$519,104$6,036
199110551$292,500$5,735
1990203126$643,618$5,108
198914,87911,021$361,858,956$32,834
198815593$335,136$3,604
19871,5791,203$5,742,418$4,773
1986256163$1,195,531$7,335
198513465$216,311$3,328
19848751$213,188$4,180
1983168106$440,796$4,158
1982189111$215,227$1,939
198110652$90,348$1,737
19805219$48,957$2,577
1979891585$1,586,041$2,711
19782612$12,688$1,057

From 2016 to 2026: 15,609 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 South Carolina

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

Other counties (fewer policies, no separate page)
CountyHome policiesMedian
Bamberg County23$767
Calhoun County12$539
Cherokee County22$952
Chester County20$846
Chesterfield County18$718
Clarendon County67$730
Darlington County86$896
Dillon County86$768
Edgefield County33$876
Greenwood County70$1,111
Hampton County73$854
Laurens County49$1,204
Lee County17$640
Marlboro County30$998
McCormick County41$1,206
Oconee County61$1,165
Saluda County38$977
Williamsburg County95$1,138

ZIP codes with the most insured homes