The amount you pay for home insurance can vary based on a number of factors including where you live, the age of your home, your credit score, and how much coverage you opt for. The average cost of home insurance in the U.S. is $2,724 per year, but premiums can vary by thousands of dollars.
This article looks at the difference in home insurance rates by state, and how things like state laws and natural disasters can impact how much you pay.
The average cost of home insurance varies by state, depending on things like home value, the likelihood of natural disasters occurring, and the different types of policies available in each state.
Based on a dwelling coverage of $350,000, the table below shows the breakdown of average home insurance rates by state. Please see the methodology at the end of the article for more details on the quotes used in this analysis.
Nebraska tops the list with the most expensive home insurance at $6,605 per year on average, followed by Louisiana at $6,479.
Source [1] MarketWatch, “Average Home Insurance Cost” https://www.marketwatch.com/guides/insurance-services/average-home-insurance-cost/
Rates are accurate as of September 2024 but are subject to change.
Nebraska tops the list with an average annual home insurance premium of $6,605. This state is susceptible to extreme weather; between 1980 and 2024, Nebraska has experienced 65 weather and climate disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion each. These events include 44 severe storms, 12 droughts, and five floods. [2] NCEI https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/state-summary/NE
The age of a home can also have an impact on the cost of insurance, with older homes typically costing more to insure. This is due to aging construction materials and the potential for damage to roofing, plumbing, and electricals. Homes in Nebraska have an average age of 47 years, putting them 12th on the list of states with the oldest homes. [3] Bankrate, “Factors That Impact Home Insurance Rates” https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/homeowners-insurance/factors-that-impact-home-insurance-rates/ [4] Construction Coverage, “American Cities With the Oldest Homes” https://constructioncoverage.com/research/cities-with-the-oldest-homes
Louisiana is the second most expensive state to insure a home, with the average annual home insurance premium costing $6,479.
In the last three years, Louisiana has experienced several hurricanes meaning insurers have had to pay out tens of billions of dollars for insured losses.
Some home insurance companies have gone insolvent as a result, and others have stopped offering policies in Louisiana altogether. [5] Policy Genius, “Louisiana Homeowners Insurance Crisis Explained” https://www.policygenius.com/homeowners-insurance/louisiana-homeowners-insurance-crisis/
The state with the third highest home insurance rates is Oklahoma, where the average annual premium is $6,472. Extreme weather and natural disasters are some of the main factors that may contribute to the higher cost of home insurance in Oklahoma.
In 2024 alone, Oklahoma has experienced 106 tornadoes as of July 18th; the highest number of tornadoes in Oklahoma occurred in 2019 when there were 149 in total. [6] Koco, “2024 is the 6th Busiest Tornado Season for Oklahoma in Nearly 75 Years” https://www.koco.com/article/2024-6th-busiest-tornado-season-oklahoma/61641903
The state with the lowest average home insurance cost is Hawaii, where average annual premiums are $733. Most residents of Hawaii have separate hurricane insurance on top of their home insurance; the cost for this can range from $250 per year for a new double-wall home to over $2,000 per year for an older single-wall home. This means the total cost to insure a home in Hawaii could exceed the cost of insurance in some states. [7] Hawaii Business, “Hawaii’s Home Insurance Premiums Are Lowest in Nation” https://www.hawaiibusiness.com/hawaii-home-insurance-premiums-lowest-in-nation-construction-costs-real-estate/
In other states like Oklahoma, extreme weather events are included as part of typical home insurance.
Although house prices in Hawaii are the highest out of any state, home values don’t factor into insurance premiums. Instead, insurance companies look at the cost of rebuilding homes after damage, and construction material costs have not risen nearly as much as house prices in Hawaii in the last few years. [8] Zillow, “Housing Data” https://www.zillow.com/research/data/
The average annual cost of home insurance in Delaware is $1,154, making it the second cheapest state for home insurance. Due to Delaware’s coastal position, many homes are at risk of damage from flooding, hurricanes, and windstorms.
Not all standard home insurance policies will cover these risks, so homeowners can purchase separate flood insurance policies from the National Flood Insurance Program or other private insurers. Some policies might come with separate deductibles for hurricanes or windstorms, reducing the cost of standard premiums. [9] Bankrate, “Best Homeowners Insurance in Delaware” https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/homeowners-insurance/delaware/
Oregon comes third on the list when it comes to the cheapest home insurance premiums, with an average annual cost of $1,175. One of the reasons for Oregon’s home insurance premiums being lower could be that the climate is fairly mild with weather events like tornadoes and hailstorms occurring quite rarely. This may mean the likelihood of homes being damaged or destroyed is fairly low compared to some states where the weather is more volatile. [10] WRCC, “Oregon Climate” https://wrcc.dri.edu/Climate/narrative_or.php
The median home price in the U.S. is $412,300, and while your home’s value alone doesn’t typically impact insurance rates, the cost to rebuild your home does impact it. Your premium is generally based on how much it would cost to replace or rebuild your home if it was damaged or destroyed, alongside other factors like the location and the type of coverage you choose. [11] The Ascent, “Average House Price by State” https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/research/average-house-price-state/ [12] Insurance.com, “How a Home’s Value is Calculated and How it Affects Homeowners Insurance” https://www.insurance.com/how-much-house-worth-depends-on-valuation
Because larger houses are typically more expensive and would cost more to rebuild in the event of total destruction, higher-value houses do tend to cost more to insure. The table below shows how average insurance costs increase with home value, with a $250,000 house costing $2,335 to insure with a $500 deductible, and a $1,000,000 house costing $7,124 with the same deductible.
An increase in deductibles offers a cheaper average home insurance premium for all home values, but it does mean you’d have to pay more out of pocket if you had to make a claim.
| Home Value | Average Annual Premium With $500 Deductible | Average Annual Premium With $1,000 Deductible | Average Annual Premium With $5,000 Deductible |
|---|---|---|---|
| $250K | $2,335 | $2,238 | $1,708 |
| $350K | $2,957 | $2,838 | $2,226 |
| $450K | $3,602 | $3,465 | $2,748 |
| $750K | $5,558 | $5,368 | $4,399 |
| $1M | $7,124 | $6,907 | $5,719 |
Source [1] MarketWatch, “Average Home Insurance Cost” https://www.marketwatch.com/guides/insurance-services/average-home-insurance-cost/
The age of your home can impact how much you pay for insurance, typically because older homes might have more outdated features like plumbing or electricity systems. Older homes will also have experienced decades or possibly centuries of wear and tear, making them more likely to need repairs.
The cost of rebuilding an older home can also be more expensive due to the types of materials that may have originally been used for construction. [13] Progressive, “Homeowners Insurance for Older Homes” https://www.progressive.com/answers/homeowners-insurance-for-older-homes/
The average age of a home in the U.S. is 41 years, an increase from the average of 30 years in 2000. [4] Construction Coverage, “American Cities With the Oldest Homes” https://constructioncoverage.com/research/cities-with-the-oldest-homes The data below shows how the average annual insurance premium varies for homes of different ages. A 75-year-old home can cost around 1.7 times more to insure than a newly built home.
| Age of Home | Average Annual Premium |
|---|---|
| <1 year | $1,788 |
| 45 years | $3,125 |
| 75 years | $3,110 |
Source [1] MarketWatch, “Average Home Insurance Cost” https://www.marketwatch.com/guides/insurance-services/average-home-insurance-cost/
There are a number of things that can impact the cost of your home insurance premium, let’s take a look at some of the most common factors. [3] Bankrate, “Factors That Impact Home Insurance Rates” https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/homeowners-insurance/factors-that-impact-home-insurance-rates/
The location of your home can impact how much you pay for home insurance due to things like extreme weather and crime. For example, if you live in an area that’s prone to tornadoes like Oklahoma, you can expect to pay more to insure your home. This is due to the higher likelihood of insurers having to make a payout on your policy.
Other things like construction, labor, and materials costs can also influence how much you pay to insure your home, as these things can vary depending on where you live.
Insurers can use your credit history to generate a credit-based insurance score which includes details from your credit report and sometimes from other sources. This helps them assess how much of a risk they are taking by insuring your home; a higher credit-based insurance score is typically seen as lower risk, and vice versa. As of 2024, governments in California, Maryland, and Massachusetts restrict insurance companies from using your credit scores to rate your policy or deny you coverage. State laws in Michigan and Oregon put some restrictions on insurers using credit information to manage policies, but it can be used in some circumstances.
Data on credit-based insurance scores and average home insurance costs shows how premiums vary depending on your credit history. Those with Excellent credit can expect to pay $2,007 for home insurance on average, while those with Poor credit pay much more at an average of $9,855; that’s almost five times as much.
| Credit Tier | National average home insurance premium |
|---|---|
| Excellent | $2,007 |
| Good | $2,728 |
| Poor | $9,855 |
Source [1] MarketWatch, “Average Home Insurance Cost” https://www.marketwatch.com/guides/insurance-services/average-home-insurance-cost/
Your claims history can also influence how much you pay for insurance. Homeowners with a history of filed claims might be seen as more likely to file future claims, making them a greater potential risk for insurers. Claims from a previous home can still impact you even if you’re insuring a new home, and your prior claims can be visible to insurance companies for up to seven years on your Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE). [3] Bankrate, “Factors That Impact Home Insurance Rates” https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/homeowners-insurance/factors-that-impact-home-insurance-rates/
Your deductible is the amount you are responsible for paying when you file a claim with your insurance company. When setting up your home insurance policy, agreeing to a higher deductible might mean you can pay less for your premium, but you’ll have to pay more in the event of a claim.
In areas that are prone to certain weather events like tornadoes, hurricanes, and wind storms, homeowners might pay a separate deductible for damage caused by these storms.
While some factors relating to your home insurance premiums might be out of your control, there are some ways you can save money on home insurance. [14] III, “How to Save Money on Your Homeowners Insurance” https://www.iii.org/article/how-to-save-money-on-your-homeowners-insurance
The home insurance cost data for each state were taken from MarketWatch’s analysis of figures from Quadrant Information Services.
A base home profile was used to gather pricing information with a sample homeowner aged 40 years old with good credit and no prior claims. The example home insurance coverage was as follows:
For each insurance provider, a quote was gathered for half of the ZIP codes in each state that allowed it, and the most populous ZIP codes were used in this analysis. An average was taken of these quotes to determine a national average premium. Rates included here are sample costs for informational purposes only and real premiums will vary.
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