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Flood insurance cost · Shelby County, TN

Flood insurance cost in Shelby County, Tennessee

What homeowners with a National Flood Insurance Program policy actually pay, from FEMA's records of 1,910 home policies in force on August 31, 2026.

Shelby County, TennesseePolicies in force on Aug 31, 2026

Median annual cost of NFIP flood insurance for a home

$834a year

Half of insured homes paid between $607 and $1,126. That is 23% less than the Tennessee median ($1,084). Most insured homes here are rated in zone X (72%).

$0$607 · $834 · $1,126$1,408
+3.0% vs Aug 31, 2025 (median $810)
1,910home policies in force
$911average cost (mean)
28%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: 4 FEMA declarations · individual aid. FEMA declarations and IRS tax relief in Shelby County.

Cost by flood zone in Shelby 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		$1,021$719–$1,338$1,121513 (27%)+5.5%
Zone A
High risk		$1,056$660–$1,297$1,23017 (1%)+2.5%
Zone X
Moderate to low risk		$788$566–$1,083$8291,380 (72%)+3.1%

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

Type of buildingPoliciesMedianAverage
Single-family home1,858$841$914
2–4 unit building20$924$1,200
Condo or apartment unit32$512$551
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.		49$1,543$2,026
Non-residential building or unit
Businesses, churches, farm buildings and other non-residential property.		246$2,888$3,331

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

2,205NFIP policies in force, any building
2,205insured units (condo association policies count every unit)
88%of home policies also cover contents
$100,000median contents coverage, when bought

One year on: Shelby 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 force2,1011,910−9.1%
Median annual cost$810$834+3.0%
Average annual cost$856$911+6.4%
All policies in force (any building)2,3912,205−7.8%

How many homes have flood insurance?

0.7%of all homes in Shelby County have an NFIP policy
17.9%of homes in high-risk zones (special flood hazard area) have one
303,314residential buildings counted by FEMA
3,036of 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 Shelby County, Tennessee have filed 1,018 flood claims. 780 received a payment, for a total of $25.0 million (an average of $32,099 per paid claim). The year with the most claims was 2010 (121 claims). Amounts are in dollars of the time, not adjusted for inflation.

0501001502001978: 18 claims, 12 paid, $34,260 in total1979: 101 claims, 84 paid, $475,339 in total19791980: 35 claims, 24 paid, $71,577 in total19801982: 28 claims, 23 paid, $74,091 in total1983: 20 claims, 14 paid, $65,616 in total1984: 14 claims1987: 53 claims, 49 paid, $662,856 in total1988: 18 claims19901996: 36 claims, 32 paid, $412,290 in total1997: 11 claims20002001: 50 claims, 46 paid, $475,888 in total2002: 16 claims, 10 paid, $189,006 in total2003: 10 claims2004: 14 claims, 11 paid, $186,233 in total2009: 36 claims, 21 paid, $1,108,189 in total2010: 121 claims, 111 paid, $7,225,566 in total201020102011: 74 claims, 47 paid, $2,463,573 in total2013: 22 claims, 19 paid, $1,379,878 in total2014: 119 claims, 100 paid, $3,794,539 in total20142015: 10 claims2016: 20 claims, 16 paid, $382,580 in total2018: 12 claims2019: 37 claims, 33 paid, $2,564,809 in total20202023: 12 claims, 12 paid, $1,246,142 in total2025: 21 claims, 16 paid, $344,101 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 (25)

Swipe the table sideways to see all columns.

Year of lossClaimsPaid claimsTotal paidAverage per paid claim
20252116$344,101$21,506
20231212$1,246,142$103,845
20193733$2,564,809$77,721
201812<10––
20162016$382,580$23,911
201510<10––
2014119100$3,794,539$37,945
20132219$1,379,878$72,625
20117447$2,463,573$52,416
2010121111$7,225,566$65,095
20093621$1,108,189$52,771
20041411$186,233$16,930
200310<10––
20021610$189,006$18,901
20015046$475,888$10,345
199711<10––
19963632$412,290$12,884
198818<10––
19875349$662,856$13,528
198414<10––
19832014$65,616$4,687
19822823$74,091$3,221
19803524$71,577$2,982
197910184$475,339$5,659
19781812$34,260$2,855

From 2016 to 2026: 102 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.

Main NFIP communities in the county

Memphis (664 home policies) · Germantown (412 home policies) · Unincorporated Shelby County (294 home policies) · Collierville (229 home policies) · Bartlett (162 home policies) · Millington (55 home policies)