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Flood insurance cost · Cameron County, TX

Flood insurance cost in Cameron County, Texas

What homeowners with a National Flood Insurance Program policy actually pay, from FEMA's records of 11,293 home policies in force on August 31, 2026.

Cameron County, TexasPolicies in force on Aug 31, 2026

Median annual cost of NFIP flood insurance for a home

$676a year

Half of insured homes paid between $552 and $964. That is 38% less than the Texas median ($1,084). Most insured homes here are rated in zone X (66%).

$0$552 · $676 · $964$1,205
+2.7% vs Aug 31, 2025 (median $658)
11,293home policies in force
$916average cost (mean)
33%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: 1 FEMA declaration · individual aid. FEMA declarations and IRS tax relief in Cameron County.

Cost by flood zone in Cameron 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		$1,678$1,158–$2,162$1,74394 (1%)+13.7%
Zone AE
High risk		$1,688$1,070–$2,386$1,9131,780 (16%)+12.6%
Zone A
High risk		$678$575–$928$841290 (3%)+2.7%
Zone AO
High risk, shallow		$668$535–$802$688225 (2%)+4.0%
Zone AH
High risk, shallow		$656$562–$771$6801,394 (12%)+1.7%
Zone X
Moderate to low risk		$631$535–$799$7237,509 (66%)+2.6%

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 Cameron County, by what they insure.

Type of buildingPoliciesMedianAverage
Single-family home9,313$675$926
2–4 unit building478$863$1,302
Manufactured (mobile) home215$594$705
Condo or apartment unit1,287$619$734
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.		656$3,088$4,779
Non-residential building or unit
Businesses, churches, farm buildings and other non-residential property.		1,296$1,608$2,417
13,245NFIP policies in force, any building
19,201insured units (condo association policies count every unit)
90%of home policies also cover contents
$99,000median contents coverage, when bought

One year on: Cameron 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 force11,78311,293−4.2%
Median annual cost$658$676+2.7%
Average annual cost$860$916+6.5%
All policies in force (any building)13,76613,245−3.8%

How many homes have flood insurance?

9.7%of all homes in Cameron County have an NFIP policy
36.7%of homes in high-risk zones (special flood hazard area) have one
125,340residential buildings counted by FEMA
11,871of 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 Cameron County, Texas have filed 7,098 flood claims. 5,210 received a payment, for a total of $185.1 million (an average of $35,519 per paid claim). The year with the most claims was 2008 (1,599 claims). Amounts are in dollars of the time, not adjusted for inflation.

05001k1.5k2k1978: 15 claims1979: 12 claims1980: 1,035 claims, 722 paid, $8,456,743 in total198019801981: 10 claims1982: 175 claims, 136 paid, $1,179,174 in total1983: 78 claims, 59 paid, $529,690 in total1984: 303 claims, 151 paid, $631,615 in total1985: 16 claims1986: 17 claims1987: 32 claims, 25 paid, $63,581 in total1988: 84 claims, 52 paid, $125,634 in total19901991: 423 claims, 337 paid, $5,756,491 in total1992: 30 claims, 16 paid, $34,176 in total1995: 14 claims1996: 86 claims, 68 paid, $419,864 in total1997: 74 claims, 54 paid, $583,228 in total1998: 19 claims, 11 paid, $108,072 in total1999: 59 claims2000: 14 claims20002002: 51 claims, 38 paid, $588,715 in total2003: 139 claims, 118 paid, $2,112,899 in total2004: 69 claims, 47 paid, $1,010,615 in total2005: 10 claims2007: 92 claims, 75 paid, $1,120,983 in total2008: 1,599 claims, 1,029 paid, $22,699,753 in total20082009: 13 claims2010: 87 claims, 54 paid, $1,379,141 in total20102014: 17 claims2015: 95 claims, 68 paid, $1,613,278 in total2017: 17 claims2018: 142 claims, 117 paid, $3,925,464 in total2019: 701 claims, 626 paid, $36,878,735 in total2020: 169 claims, 100 paid, $2,008,997 in total20202021: 137 claims, 96 paid, $3,569,978 in total2024: 25 claims, 14 paid, $179,938 in total2025: 1,159 claims, 1,087 paid, $88,950,651 in total2025
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 (36)

Swipe the table sideways to see all columns.

Year of lossClaimsPaid claimsTotal paidAverage per paid claim
20251,1591,087$88,950,651$81,831
20242514$179,938$12,853
202113796$3,569,978$37,187
2020169100$2,008,997$20,090
2019701626$36,878,735$58,912
2018142117$3,925,464$33,551
201717<10––
20159568$1,613,278$23,725
201417<10––
20108754$1,379,141$25,540
200913<10––
20081,5991,029$22,699,753$22,060
20079275$1,120,983$14,946
200510<10––
20046947$1,010,615$21,502
2003139118$2,112,899$17,906
20025138$588,715$15,492
200014<10––
199959<10––
19981911$108,072$9,825
19977454$583,228$10,801
19968668$419,864$6,174
199514<10––
19923016$34,176$2,136
1991423337$5,756,491$17,082
19888452$125,634$2,416
19873225$63,581$2,543
198617<10––
198516<10––
1984303151$631,615$4,183
19837859$529,690$8,978
1982175136$1,179,174$8,670
198110<10––
19801,035722$8,456,743$11,713
197912<10––
197815<10––

From 2016 to 2026: 2,350 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 Cameron County

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

Main NFIP communities in the county

Brownsville (2,409 home policies) · Harlingen (2,286 home policies) · Unincorporated Cameron County (1,899 home policies) · South Padre Island (1,815 home policies) · Laguna Vista (778 home policies) · San Benito (547 home policies)