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Flood insurance cost · ZIP 78521 · TX

Flood insurance cost in ZIP 78521 (Brownsville, TX)

What homeowners with a National Flood Insurance Program policy actually pay, from FEMA's records of 765 home policies in force on August 31, 2026.

ZIP code 78521 (Brownsville, TX)Policies in force on Aug 31, 2026

Median annual cost of NFIP flood insurance for a home

$651a year

Half of insured homes paid between $553 and $781. That is 4% less than the Cameron County median ($676). Most insured homes here are rated in zone X (55%).

$0$553 · $651 · $781$976
+2.7% vs Aug 31, 2025 (median $634)
765home policies in force
$696average cost (mean)
45%of insured homes in high-risk zones (A, V)
$220,000median 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 ZIP code 78521

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		$1,355$1,288–$1,990$1,68913 (2%)–
Zone A
High risk		$652$561–$820$70337 (5%)+1.4%
Zone AH
High risk, shallow		$717$609–$829$741297 (39%)−1.0%
Zone X
Moderate to low risk		$606$529–$706$632418 (55%)+2.7%

Not shown (fewer than 10 home policies): VE, AO, 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 ZIP code 78521, by what they insure.

Type of buildingPoliciesMedianAverage
Single-family home680$636$682
2–4 unit building69$756$800
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.		86$1,446$1,762
Non-residential building or unit
Businesses, churches, farm buildings and other non-residential property.		294$1,627$1,723

Not shown (fewer than 10 policies): manufactured (mobile) home, condo or apartment unit.

1,145NFIP policies in force, any building
1,145insured units (condo association policies count every unit)
78%of home policies also cover contents
$79,000median contents coverage, when bought

One year on: ZIP code 78521

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 force785765−2.5%
Median annual cost$634$651+2.7%
Average annual cost$656$696+6.1%
All policies in force (any building)1,1841,145−3.3%

Flood claims history

Since 1978, NFIP policyholders in ZIP 78521 have filed 526 flood claims. 356 received a payment, for a total of $6,662,313 (an average of $18,714 per paid claim). The year with the most claims was 1984 (59 claims). Amounts are in dollars of the time, not adjusted for inflation.

0204060801980: 52 claims, 23 paid, $112,734 in total198019801984: 59 claims, 39 paid, $270,349 in total198419901991: 15 claims1996: 49 claims, 41 paid, $263,582 in total19961997: 28 claims, 23 paid, $342,766 in total20002003: 48 claims, 43 paid, $1,117,653 in total2004: 28 claims, 20 paid, $656,569 in total2008: 49 claims, 29 paid, $263,029 in total2010: 27 claims, 18 paid, $154,596 in total20102015: 22 claims, 14 paid, $462,580 in total2018: 25 claims, 23 paid, $981,120 in total20202021: 39 claims, 30 paid, $1,777,318 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 (12)

Swipe the table sideways to see all columns.

Year of lossClaimsPaid claimsTotal paidAverage per paid claim
20213930$1,777,318$59,244
20182523$981,120$42,657
20152214$462,580$33,041
20102718$154,596$8,589
20084929$263,029$9,070
20042820$656,569$32,828
20034843$1,117,653$25,992
19972823$342,766$14,903
19964941$263,582$6,429
199115<10––
19845939$270,349$6,932
19805223$112,734$4,901

From 2016 to 2026: 64 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.

NFIP communities in this ZIP code

Brownsville (668 home policies) · Unincorporated Cameron County (96 home policies). A ZIP code can cross city and county lines; each policy is counted once, in the ZIP code reported for the insured building.