Which Counties Have the Most Flood Claims Outside High-Risk Zones?
Learning goal: See where flood claims from outside FEMA's high-risk zones have been concentrated, and why a low-risk flood zone doesn't mean no flood risk.
Short answer
Harris County, Texas, had the most: 31,976 National Flood Insurance Program claims from 2016 to 2025 came from properties rated outside FEMA's high-risk zones, about 50% of its claims. Nationally, about 28% of claims came from outside those zones. Of the top 30 counties, 12 are in Texas, and the period includes Hurricane Harvey.
Read to the end to complete this lesson.
On this page
The Fuller Picture
On FEMA's flood maps, high-risk areas are the zones beginning with A or V. Insurpedia counted, county by county, the NFIP claims from 2016 to 2025 on properties rated outside those zones. The 30 counties below account for about 59% of all such claims. These are claims by people who had flood insurance, so they show where flooding outside mapped high-risk areas has cost insured homeowners, not all flooded homes.
- 28% of NFIP claims came from outside high-risk A and V zones
- 31,976 such claims in Harris County, Texas, the most of any county
- 59% of them came from the 30 counties in the table
- 12 of those 30 counties are in Texas
Rounded, as in the text.
Claims on properties rated outside zones beginning with A or V. One storm can account for most of a county's count.
Counties with the most flood claims outside high-risk zones, 2016–2025
| County or parish | State | Claims | Outside high-risk zones | Share outside | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris | Texas | 63,386 | 31,976 | 50% | fema. |
| Jefferson | Texas | 10,283 | 7,816 | 76% | fema. |
| Galveston | Texas | 9,977 | 5,304 | 53% | fema. |
| Orange | Texas | 6,710 | 4,267 | 64% | fema. |
| Fort Bend | Texas | 4,657 | 3,243 | 70% | fema. |
| Montgomery | Texas | 5,845 | 3,123 | 53% | fema. |
| East Baton Rouge | Louisiana | 13,254 | 2,341 | 18% | fema. |
| Calcasieu | Louisiana | 4,162 | 2,319 | 56% | fema. |
| Volusia | Florida | 8,174 | 2,304 | 28% | fema. |
| Orleans | Louisiana | 4,500 | 2,064 | 46% | fema. |
| Cameron | Texas | 2,288 | 2,042 | 89% | fema. |
| Brazoria | Texas | 6,155 | 1,927 | 31% | fema. |
| Hidalgo | Texas | 2,394 | 1,862 | 78% | fema. |
| Aransas | Texas | 2,661 | 1,528 | 57% | fema. |
| Broward | Florida | 7,952 | 1,484 | 19% | fema. |
| Bay | Florida | 2,683 | 1,418 | 53% | fema. |
| Lafayette | Louisiana | 3,343 | 1,404 | 42% | fema. |
| Jefferson | Louisiana | 5,181 | 1,304 | 25% | fema. |
| St. John the Baptist | Louisiana | 3,898 | 1,296 | 33% | fema. |
| Nueces | Texas | 4,132 | 1,140 | 28% | fema. |
| Lee | Florida | 37,105 | 1,096 | 3% | fema. |
| Tangipahoa | Louisiana | 2,764 | 1,090 | 39% | fema. |
| Westchester | New York | 2,670 | 1,072 | 40% | fema. |
| Livingston | Louisiana | 8,234 | 1,056 | 13% | fema. |
| Duval | Florida | 2,919 | 1,034 | 35% | fema. |
| St. Tammany | Louisiana | 4,124 | 996 | 24% | fema. |
| Chambers | Texas | 1,092 | 959 | 88% | fema. |
| Sarasota | Florida | 9,172 | 941 | 10% | fema. |
| Horry | South Carolina | 3,579 | 929 | 26% | fema. |
| Hillsborough | Florida | 11,118 | 919 | 8% | fema. |
Each row checked against its source on 3 November 2026. NFIP claims only, so homes without flood insurance aren't counted. Outside high-risk zones means a rated zone that doesn't begin with A or V.
Key Takeaways
- About 28% of NFIP claims from 2016 to 2025 came from properties rated outside high-risk A and V zones.
- Harris County, Texas, had 31,976 such claims, the most of any county.
- A big storm can drive a county's numbers, as Hurricane Harvey did in the Houston area.
- Outside a high-risk zone, flood insurance is generally optional, so it's worth checking your own address and policy.
Real-World Example
A homeowner outside the mapped zone
Imagine a homeowner in Harris County whose house is rated outside a high-risk zone, and who hasn't bought flood insurance. Of the county's 63,386 NFIP claims from 2016 to 2025, 31,976 came from properties rated outside high-risk zones. That doesn't predict their risk, but it's a reason to look up their address and price a policy.
Common Mistakes
- Treating "outside a high-risk zone" as "no flood risk".
- Reading the counts as all flood damage. Homes without flood insurance aren't in FEMA's claims records.
- Assuming the homeowners policy will cover it. Standard homeowners policies generally exclude flood.
- Reading a county's count as a forecast. One major storm can account for most of it.
Interactive Exercise
Check your own flood zone
Use the table as a prompt to check your address, not as an answer about your home.
Tick each step as you do it. Your checklist is saved in this browser.
Knowledge Check
Question: About what share of NFIP claims from 2016 to 2025 came from properties rated outside FEMA's high-risk A and V zones?
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Related Insurance Terms
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Questions to explore next
Questions readers often ask next about this topic:
- How do I find my home's flood zone?
- Is flood insurance cheaper outside a high-risk zone?
- Does my lender require flood insurance?
See every lesson in the Homeowners Insurance course.
Explore the course →Sources
The factual claims on this page were checked against these sources. Rules and figures change, so check the source itself if you need to confirm the current version.
- fema.govNFIP Redacted Claims v3, field definitions · Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA
- floodsmart.govWhat is my flood risk? · FloodSmart, National Flood Insurance Program (FEMA)
- fema.govOpenFEMA Terms and Conditions · Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Educational information, not advice: This lesson is for general education only, not legal, financial, or insurance advice. Actual coverage, discounts, and requirements depend on your policy’s wording, your insurer, and the laws of your state. Confirm specifics with your own insurer or a licensed agent before making a decision. Insurpedia does not sell insurance and does not recommend specific insurers. Insurpedia's own calculation from OpenFEMA's NFIP Redacted Claims v3, retrieved on 3 November 2026: claims with a date of loss from 2016 to 2025, excluding records FEMA codes as errors. Outside high-risk zones means a rated flood zone that doesn't begin with A or V. Counties with at least 300 claims, ranked by claims outside those zones; county names from FEMA's NFIP Residential Penetration Rates. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).