OUT OFTHE STORMNEWS

Clear answers on insurance and retirement income.

Data · May 2026 data · 13-month trend

South Carolina Flood Insurance Costs

In May 2026, the average premium among South Carolina NFIP policies newly written or renewed that month was $675. Against a national average of $982, the state sits 31.3% lower. That represents a 7.3% increase year over year. 19,829 policies were written or renewed statewide that month; Laurens County was the priciest county at $2,340 on average.

What we measure: Average premium among policies newly written or renewed that month (NFIP transactions) — not the official in-force average. OpenFEMA transaction data is published on a lag of roughly two months; the latest period shown reflects that lag.

Key facts — May 2026

Average premium
$675
Avg total cost (with fees)
$884
Change (year over year)
+7.3%
vs national average
-31.3%
Policies written or renewed
19,829
Counties reporting
42

South Carolina trend, last 13 months

Average premium among policies newly written or renewed each month. Bars scale to the highest month shown.

Average NFIP premium, total cost, and policy count by month in South Carolina
MonthAvg premiumPremium relative to highest monthAvg total costPolicies
May 2025$629$83021,474
June 2025$709$93321,700
July 2025$762$1,00419,376
August 2025$727$96419,401
September 2025$772$1,02117,475
October 2025$728$96815,614
November 2025$740$98111,674
December 2025$709$94312,160
January 2026$742$97910,766
February 2026$772$1,01910,833
March 2026$714$94516,994
April 2026$749$97717,552
May 2026$675$88419,829

County breakdown — May 2026

Sorted by average premium, highest first. Rows labeled with a FIPS code are reporting areas without a matched county name. Watch the policy count before reading much into small-county averages.

Average NFIP premium by county in South Carolina, May 2026
CountyAvg premiumPremium relative to highest countyAvg total costPolicies
Laurens County$2,340$2,8795
Georgetown County$1,581$2,014635
Saluda County$1,370$1,9141
Oconee County$1,280$1,8072
Pickens County$1,099$1,46312
Marion County$1,006$1,29022
Charleston County$999$1,3005,060
Fairfield County$999$1,30213
Kershaw County$988$1,30228
Newberry County$980$1,2568
Anderson County$977$1,3155
Lancaster County$947$1,21518
Calhoun County$906$1,1411
Lexington County$896$1,17594
Richland County$885$1,151126
Greenville County$867$1,14795
Colleton County$836$1,158314
Cherokee County$822$1,0421
Spartanburg County$798$1,04116
Berkeley County$797$1,052611
Dorchester County$782$1,026203
Jasper County$780$1,012128
Florence County$769$99737
Orangeburg County$735$1,04415
FIPS 45000$734$95513
Marlboro County$734$9382
Williamsburg County$723$1,1055
Abbeville County$715$9161
Darlington County$685$92510
Lee County$669$8611
Aiken County$659$86641
Hampton County$655$84510
York County$653$86345
Beaufort County$650$8744,394
Sumter County$611$85127
Greenwood County$562$7352
Clarendon County$549$8322
Dillon County$498$6604
Bamberg County$444$5953
Horry County$367$4767,763
Allendale County$353$4891
Chesterfield County$114$2071

Use this data

Download South Carolina CSV (south-carolina.csv) — free to reuse with attribution. Read the full methodology for formulas, update cadence, and limitations. Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP policy transaction data (FimaNfipPolicies).

Suggested citation

"South Carolina Flood Insurance Costs." Out of the Storm News Flood Insurance Cost Index, May 2026, based on FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP policy transaction data. https://outofthestormnews.com/flood-insurance/costs/south-carolina

Editorial context for reading these numbers — how NFIP coverage and pricing work in practice, and what a flood map does and doesn’t tell you.

Nearby states

← All states: Flood Insurance Cost Index