Where you live changes the price of flood insurance more than almost anything else. Here are the cheapest and most expensive states for NFIP flood insurance in 2026, and the reasons behind the gap.
The short answer
The most expensive states are West Virginia ($1,840/yr), Vermont ($1,697) and Pennsylvania ($1,513). The cheapest are Alaska ($428), the District of Columbia ($463) and Maryland ($505). The national average is about $976/yr.
Top 5 most and least expensive
| Most expensive | Premium/yr | Cheapest | Premium/yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | $1,840 | Alaska | $428 |
| Vermont | $1,697 | District of Columbia | $463 |
| Pennsylvania | $1,513 | Maryland | $505 |
| Connecticut | $1,502 | Utah | $689 |
| Kentucky | $1,472 | South Carolina | $764 |
Full rankings: most expensive states and cheapest states.
The surprise: pricey states are often inland
People assume the coast is most expensive, but the top of the premium table is full of inland states — West Virginia, Vermont, Kentucky — where steep terrain, rivers and flash floods cause severe, repeated losses among a smaller policy base. Meanwhile, coastal heavyweights like Florida and Texas dominate the most-claims ranking yet sit mid-table on average premium, because their enormous policy counts spread the average.
Claims vs cost
A state’s claim count and its average premium don’t always agree. Louisiana and Florida have paid out on hundreds of thousands of NFIP claims each since 1978, but their averages are near the national figure. That’s because, under Risk Rating 2.0, premiums track each property’s risk, not the state’s total flood history.
Find your state
Look up the average flood insurance cost in your state, then get a rough personal figure from the estimator. Remember it’s a benchmark — your real Risk Rating 2.0 quote depends on your property. General information, not insurance advice.