District of Columbia
flood insurance data
- The median paid claim, $3,546, is 90.5% below the national median of the same years ($37,248), the 2nd lowest of 51 States and territories.
- The median NFIP premium in District of Columbia, $404, is 61.7% below the national median ($1,055); it is the 2nd lowest of 53 States and territories.
- Inside the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), the median premium in District of Columbia is $583, 51.8% higher than outside it ($384); most of its zoned policies sit outside it (81.5%).
- Of the 732 owner registrations FEMA inspected in District of Columbia after disasters of every declared type, 0.0% show more than $30,000 of FEMA-inspected damage, against 2.6% nationally. The disaster with the most inspections is DR-1493, HURRICANE ISABEL (declared 2003-09-20), with 732.
Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA NfipPolicies (v3, data as of 2026-09-09, retrieved 2026-10-11 and 2026-10-12), NfipClaims (v3, data as of 2026-09-09, retrieved 2026-10-12), DisasterDeclarationsSummaries (v2, data as of 2026-10-11, retrieved 2026-10-12), HousingAssistanceOwners (v2, data as of 2026-10-11, retrieved 2026-10-12), NfipCommunityStatusBook (v1, data as of 2026-10-11, retrieved 2026-10-12); CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items (CUUR0000SA0), annual average (BLS Public Data API v1, annual averages 2005-2025, retrieved 2026-10-12). Not an official federal report.
NFIP premiums in District of Columbia
NFIP premiums: what NFIP policyholders paid, not a quote. Across 1,332 policies (policies effective 2025; occupancy: residential (occupancyType 1,2,3,11,12,13,14); amount: FEMA field policyCost), the median is $404, and half of them fall between $358 (Q1) and $548 (Q3).
With 1,332 residential NFIP policies effective 2025, District of Columbia has the 2nd fewest of 53 States and territories. Residential NFIP policies counted by FEMA fell 16.4% between 2019 (1,593) and 2025 (1,332); the count peaked in 2021 (1,679). Of the 2 zones listed (X, AE), zone AE has the highest median premium ($568) and zone X the lowest ($384). No coastal V or VE zone is listed.
| Flood zone group | Policies | Q1 | Median | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFHA (A, AE, AH, AO, AR, A99, V, VE) | 246 | $485 | $583 | $862 |
| Outside SFHA (X, B, C) | 1,086 | $349 | $384 | $470 |
By flood zone
| Flood zone | Policies | Q1 | Median | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| X | 1,086 | $349 | $384 | $470 |
| AE | 233 | $479 | $568 | $799 |
Policies in force by year
| Year | Policies |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 1,593 |
| 2020 | 1,676 |
| 2021 | 1,679 |
| 2022 | 1,543 |
| 2023 | 1,483 |
| 2024 | 1,463 |
| 2025 | 1,332 |
Base of each count: the yearly figures are FEMA API counts of residential policy terms, every premium included; the median and quartiles rest on the policies effective 2025 with a positive policyCost. For 2025 both bases count 1,332 policies.
NFIP paid building claims in District of Columbia
NFIP claims: amounts paid, not repair cost. Window: year of loss 2015-2024; 131 paid claims; median $3,546, half of them between $1,352 (Q1) and $7,585 (Q3), in nominal dollars. Median in 2024 dollars (CPI-U): $4,283, a monetary adjustment, not today’s cost of repair.
With 131 paid claims (year of loss 2015-2024), District of Columbia has the 4th fewest of 53 States and territories. The paid claims are spread over the years (year of loss 2015-2024): the busiest, 2020, holds 32.8% of them.
| Event | Paid claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Ophelia | 2 | 1.5% |
| Hurricane Ida | 1 | 0.8% |
Paid claims by year of loss
| Year of loss | Paid claims |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 6 |
| 2016 | 4 |
| 2017 | 17 |
| 2018 | 26 |
| 2019 | 13 |
| 2020 | 43 |
| 2021 | 10 |
| 2022 | 4 |
| 2023 | 7 |
| 2024 | 1 |
FEMA disaster declarations
Since 2000: 12 flood, hurricane and severe-storm declarations (DR and EM) covering District of Columbia, 8 of them major disaster declarations.
District of Columbia counts 12 flood, hurricane and severe-storm declarations (DR and EM) since 2000, the 8th fewest of 53 States and territories. Hurricane and Severe Storm declarations are the most frequent (6 each).
| Incident type | Declarations |
|---|---|
| Flood | 0 |
| Hurricane | 6 |
| Severe Storm | 6 |
Latest declarations
- DR-4096: HURRICANE SANDY (Hurricane, 2012-12-05)
- EM-3352: HURRICANE SANDY (Hurricane, 2012-10-28)
- DR-4073: SEVERE STORMS (Severe Storm, 2012-07-31)
- DR-4036: HURRICANE IRENE (Hurricane, 2011-09-28)
- EM-3337: HURRICANE IRENE (Hurricane, 2011-08-28)
FEMA assistance to homeowners
Since 2002: 732 owner registrations inspected by FEMA in District of Columbia after disasters of every declared type; inspected damage is FEMA’s assessment for its assistance program, not repair cost.
| Damage band | Registrations |
|---|---|
| No FEMA-inspected damage | 61 |
| $1-$10,000 | 671 |
| $10,001-$20,000 | 0 |
| $20,001-$30,000 | 0 |
| More than $30,000 | 0 |
Disasters with the most inspections
- DR-1493, HURRICANE ISABEL (declared 2003-09-20): 732 inspections
NFIP communities and flood maps
FEMA’s Community Status Book lists 1 NFIP communities in District of Columbia: 1 participate in the NFIP and 0 (0.0%) are classed in the Community Rating System (CRS). The oldest flood map still in effect in District of Columbia dates from 2010-09-27 (District of Columbia).
Questions about flood insurance in District of Columbia
How much is flood insurance in District of Columbia?
NFIP policyholders in District of Columbia paid a median of $404 for residential policies effective 2025 (1,332 policies; FEMA field policyCost: premium, reserve fund assessment, federal policy fee and HFIAA surcharge); half paid between $358 and $548; $583 inside the Special Flood Hazard Area against $384 outside it: what NFIP policyholders paid, not a quote.
How many flood insurance claims has District of Columbia had?
131 NFIP building claims were paid (year of loss 2015-2024), with a median of $3,546; the year with the most was 2020 (43), and the named event with the most was Tropical Storm Ophelia (2). These are amounts paid, not repair cost.
Is District of Columbia in a flood zone?
Of the residential NFIP policies of District of Columbia (policies effective 2025), 246 are rated inside the Special Flood Hazard Area and 1,086 outside it (zones listed: X, AE), but these aggregates cannot tell the flood zone of an address: FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center shows it for a given property.
Related tools
NFIP paid claims and premiums are not repair estimates: to estimate the cleanup of a flooded basement from published cost-guide rates, use the basement water damage repair cost calculator; for water removal and drying after any water loss, the water damage and mitigation calculator.
To set these figures against every State on one claims window, amounts paid, not repair cost: NFIP paid building claims by state.
Before using these figures
A state figure mixes very different counties and flood zones. Method and limits.
Source and notice
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).