US Cities and States With The Highest Flood Damage
Buying flood insurance may feel like you are flushing money down the drain. However, if you live in one of the cities below, know that FEMA has paid out billions in flood damage claims over the last 50 years to homeowners in your neighborhood.
Check your flood risk before evaluating flood insurance options in your area. High-risk flood zones represent 80% of all flood insurance claims. If you are buying a house in one of the cities below, don't be surprised if flood insurance is a requirement from your lender.
Total Dollars Paid In Flood Building Claims by City: 1973 - 2019
| Rank | City | State | Sum of Building Flood Claims |
| 1 | New Orleans | LA | $5,838,750,802 |
| 2 | Houston | TX | $4,487,801,871 |
| 3 | Metairie | LA | $1,440,547,833 |
| 4 | Slidell | LA | $1,125,370,767 |
| 5 | Chalmette | LA | $868,965,373 |
| 6 | Baton Rouge | LA | $792,632,467 |
| 7 | Galveston | TX | $645,492,205 |
| 8 | Long Beach | NY | $514,046,240 |
| 9 | Kenner | LA | $465,362,996 |
| 10 | Denham Springs | LA | $415,137,083 |
| 11 | Port Arthur | TX | $319,566,996 |
| 12 | Spring | TN | $314,713,654 |
| 13 | Miami | FL | $313,018,570 |
| 14 | Pensacola | FL | $308,772,025 |
| 15 | Kingwood | TX | $305,025,739 |
| 16 | Biloxi | MS | $302,200,818 |
| 17 | Orange | FL | $299,347,612 |
| 18 | Friendswood | TX | $284,134,842 |
| 19 | Brooklyn | NY | $282,156,372 |
| 20 | Dickinson | TX | $276,650,181 |
| 21 | Pass Christian | MS | $269,895,707 |
| 22 | Meraux | LA | $260,749,151 |
| 23 | Massapequa | NY | $255,063,046 |
| 24 | Arabi | LA | $250,247,744 |
| 25 | Toms River | NJ | $248,801,822 |
| 26 | Freeport | NY | $243,215,623 |
| 27 | Gulfport | MS | $236,518,551 |
| 28 | Beaumont | TX | $231,945,237 |
| 29 | Staten Island | NY | $225,002,159 |
| 30 | Crystal Beach | TX | $219,063,856 |
| 31 | Bridge City | TX | $218,349,228 |
| 32 | Katy | TX | $215,620,100 |
| 33 | Oceanside | CA | $211,046,003 |
| 34 | Bellaire | TX | $208,835,769 |
| 35 | Key West | FL | $205,550,503 |
| 36 | Gulf Breeze | FL | $202,341,595 |
| 37 | Manahawkin | NJ | $192,269,890 |
| 38 | Cypress | TX | $189,661,124 |
| 39 | Lavallette | NJ | $187,723,751 |
| 40 | New Bern | NC | $181,554,776 |
| 41 | Ocean Springs | MS | $179,146,950 |
| 42 | Orange Beach | AL | $177,054,444 |
| 43 | Marrero | LA | $174,745,856 |
| 44 | Ocean City | MD | $172,761,307 |
| 45 | Violet | LA | $171,445,031 |
| 46 | Jacksonville | FL | $171,259,639 |
| 47 | Gulf Shores | AL | $170,048,675 |
| 48 | Humble | TX | $168,093,614 |
| 49 | Pascagoula | MS | $165,490,823 |
| 50 | Baytown | TX | $164,856,779 |
Source: FEMA
As you can tell from the above data, LA seems to be winning. However, there are many other states where flood claims are quite common. See below for a state-based ranking of total flood insurance claims paid out over the last 50 years.
Total Dollars Paid In Flood Building Claims by State: 1973 - 2019
| Rank | State | Sum of Building Flood Claims |
| 1 | LA | $15,468,799,880 |
| 2 | TX | $12,453,567,009 |
| 3 | NJ | $5,009,871,311 |
| 4 | NY | $4,712,679,781 |
| 5 | FL | $4,381,014,600 |
| 6 | MS | $2,337,098,492 |
| 7 | NC | $1,601,214,688 |
| 8 | PA | $963,664,757 |
| 9 | AL | $834,764,577 |
| 10 | SC | $799,913,251 |
| 11 | MO | $651,021,071 |
| 12 | VA | $610,330,780 |
| 13 | CA | $521,504,985 |
| 14 | IL | $472,021,192 |
| 15 | CT | $441,810,104 |
| 16 | MA | $358,572,235 |
| 17 | GA | $356,078,184 |
| 18 | TN | $302,247,868 |
| 19 | KY | $283,132,163 |
| 20 | KY | $270,858,225 |
| 21-50 | ~ | $3,101,952,665 |
| Grand Total | ALL | $55,932,117,818 |
Source: FEMA
Louisiana, Texas, and New Jersey account for a full 58.9% of all building flood claims paid out by FEMA over the last 50 years.
To get a more granular view of the flood insurance claims data by state and by year, check our article on the total number of NFIP flood claims by state by year.
When evaluating flood insurance quotes, it's best to compare both the public and private market options.
At your service,
Young Alfred