Data · May 2026 data · 13-month trend
North Carolina Flood Insurance Costs
Homeowners taking out or renewing NFIP flood coverage in North Carolina paid an average premium of $884 in May 2026. Against a national average of $982, the state sits 10.0% lower. Costs have risen 5.8% year over year. Across 10,511 transactions in 97 counties, the highest county-level average was $4,068 in Surry County.
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
- $884
- Avg total cost (with fees)
- $1,192
- Change (year over year)
- +5.8%
- vs national average
- -10.0%
- Policies written or renewed
- 10,511
- Counties reporting
- 97
North Carolina trend, last 13 months
Average premium among policies newly written or renewed each month. Bars scale to the highest month shown.
| Month | Avg premium | Premium relative to highest month | Avg total cost | Policies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2025 | $835 | $1,134 | 11,218 | |
| June 2025 | $806 | $1,095 | 13,750 | |
| July 2025 | $808 | $1,094 | 14,593 | |
| August 2025 | $832 | $1,129 | 14,999 | |
| September 2025 | $841 | $1,142 | 13,142 | |
| October 2025 | $848 | $1,142 | 12,286 | |
| November 2025 | $850 | $1,154 | 9,536 | |
| December 2025 | $940 | $1,269 | 7,917 | |
| January 2026 | $857 | $1,168 | 7,413 | |
| February 2026 | $872 | $1,178 | 7,890 | |
| March 2026 | $868 | $1,176 | 9,692 | |
| April 2026 | $918 | $1,234 | 9,693 | |
| May 2026 | $884 | $1,192 | 10,511 |
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.
| County | Avg premium | Premium relative to highest county | Avg total cost | Policies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surry County | $4,068 | $4,985 | 2 | |
| Caldwell County | $2,267 | $2,829 | 11 | |
| Madison County | $2,158 | $2,675 | 8 | |
| Burke County | $2,022 | $2,555 | 7 | |
| Halifax County | $1,827 | $2,303 | 6 | |
| Stanly County | $1,787 | $2,294 | 8 | |
| Randolph County | $1,682 | $2,113 | 8 | |
| Person County | $1,680 | $2,279 | 1 | |
| Ashe County | $1,647 | $2,090 | 3 | |
| Yancey County | $1,641 | $2,059 | 9 | |
| Buncombe County | $1,627 | $2,096 | 95 | |
| Clay County | $1,614 | $2,032 | 8 | |
| Forsyth County | $1,607 | $2,039 | 41 | |
| Macon County | $1,592 | $2,069 | 17 | |
| Cabarrus County | $1,590 | $2,008 | 30 | |
| Graham County | $1,540 | $1,986 | 7 | |
| McDowell County | $1,534 | $2,046 | 11 | |
| Cleveland County | $1,474 | $1,811 | 2 | |
| Avery County | $1,471 | $1,908 | 15 | |
| Nash County | $1,419 | $1,815 | 59 | |
| Cherokee County | $1,417 | $1,831 | 13 | |
| Franklin County | $1,371 | $1,689 | 3 | |
| Catawba County | $1,362 | $1,694 | 15 | |
| Guilford County | $1,311 | $1,669 | 50 | |
| Haywood County | $1,276 | $1,636 | 66 | |
| Rockingham County | $1,223 | $1,561 | 5 | |
| Scotland County | $1,200 | $1,520 | 7 | |
| Transylvania County | $1,195 | $1,578 | 28 | |
| Jackson County | $1,184 | $1,585 | 27 | |
| Alamance County | $1,178 | $1,488 | 17 | |
| Union County | $1,169 | $1,483 | 21 | |
| Hertford County | $1,169 | $1,564 | 4 | |
| Pender County | $1,163 | $1,547 | 427 | |
| Swain County | $1,137 | $1,519 | 10 | |
| Orange County | $1,133 | $1,467 | 42 | |
| Lenoir County | $1,128 | $1,563 | 49 | |
| Rutherford County | $1,112 | $1,525 | 8 | |
| Durham County | $1,082 | $1,392 | 104 | |
| Iredell County | $1,064 | $1,402 | 12 | |
| Polk County | $1,061 | $1,437 | 4 | |
| Johnston County | $1,060 | $1,358 | 44 | |
| Gaston County | $1,055 | $1,351 | 26 | |
| Lee County | $1,054 | $1,344 | 16 | |
| Warren County | $1,050 | $1,310 | 2 | |
| Davidson County | $1,046 | $1,348 | 11 | |
| Martin County | $1,028 | $1,286 | 3 | |
| Edgecombe County | $1,027 | $1,360 | 41 | |
| Columbus County | $1,016 | $1,337 | 37 | |
| Alleghany County | $1,012 | $1,491 | 2 | |
| Robeson County | $1,007 | $1,292 | 76 | |
| Wilson County | $997 | $1,304 | 48 | |
| Jones County | $982 | $1,300 | 13 | |
| Mecklenburg County | $976 | $1,248 | 259 | |
| Wake County | $965 | $1,255 | 175 | |
| Beaufort County | $964 | $1,281 | 240 | |
| Pamlico County | $926 | $1,230 | 180 | |
| Moore County | $923 | $1,207 | 34 | |
| Craven County | $919 | $1,192 | 428 | |
| Bertie County | $918 | $1,305 | 6 | |
| Watauga County | $913 | $1,242 | 73 | |
| Wayne County | $901 | $1,223 | 70 | |
| Davie County | $899 | $1,133 | 4 | |
| Chatham County | $891 | $1,124 | 17 | |
| Cumberland County | $882 | $1,167 | 92 | |
| Pasquotank County | $872 | $1,142 | 155 | |
| Perquimans County | $868 | $1,122 | 36 | |
| Mitchell County | $866 | $1,319 | 1 | |
| Carteret County | $858 | $1,158 | 1,107 | |
| Currituck County | $852 | $1,209 | 294 | |
| New Hanover County | $850 | $1,127 | 1,571 | |
| Sampson County | $847 | $1,072 | 6 | |
| Montgomery County | $846 | $1,145 | 3 | |
| Hoke County | $837 | $1,088 | 8 | |
| Pitt County | $822 | $1,155 | 125 | |
| Tyrrell County | $821 | $1,094 | 34 | |
| Alexander County | $815 | $1,109 | 3 | |
| Brunswick County | $815 | $1,128 | 1,659 | |
| Hyde County | $809 | $1,117 | 82 | |
| Camden County | $803 | $1,054 | 46 | |
| Onslow County | $789 | $1,051 | 496 | |
| Gates County | $763 | $972 | 1 | |
| Stokes County | $759 | $968 | 3 | |
| Harnett County | $720 | $953 | 28 | |
| Duplin County | $719 | $955 | 39 | |
| Bladen County | $694 | $920 | 15 | |
| Rowan County | $692 | $899 | 115 | |
| FIPS 37000 | $691 | $1,068 | 5 | |
| Washington County | $685 | $908 | 16 | |
| Dare County | $660 | $983 | 1,354 | |
| Lincoln County | $641 | $953 | 9 | |
| Henderson County | $604 | $862 | 41 | |
| Greene County | $560 | $861 | 7 | |
| Granville County | $552 | $724 | 2 | |
| Chowan County | $507 | $679 | 59 | |
| Wilkes County | $426 | $687 | 2 | |
| Richmond County | $385 | $527 | 2 | |
| Northampton County | $356 | $718 | 3 |
Use this data
Download North Carolina CSV (north-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).
"North 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/north-carolina
Related guides
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.