Lee County, Florida
flood insurance data
- The median paid claim, $69,662, is 21.8% above the Florida median ($57,176) and 87.0% above the national median of the same years ($37,248), the 14th highest of 339 counties with all four FEMA sources.
- Of the 93,931 owner registrations FEMA inspected in Lee County after disasters of every declared type, 11.6% show more than $30,000 of FEMA-inspected damage, against 1.7% across Florida and 2.6% nationally. The disaster with the most inspections is DR-4673, HURRICANE IAN (declared 2022-09-29), with 44,305.
- The median NFIP premium in Lee County, $1,663, is 66.0% above the Florida median ($1,002) and 57.6% above the national median ($1,055); it is the 9th highest of 339 counties with all four FEMA sources.
- Inside the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), the median premium in Lee County is $1,968, 81.7% higher than outside it ($1,083); most of its zoned policies sit inside the SFHA (81.1%).
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 Lee County
NFIP premiums: what NFIP policyholders paid, not a quote. Across 76,344 policies (policies effective 2025; occupancy: residential (occupancyType 1,2,3,11,12,13,14); amount: FEMA field policyCost), the median is $1,663, and half of them fall between $1,083 (Q1) and $2,879 (Q3).
Of the 5 zones listed (AE, X, VE, AH, A), zone VE has the highest median premium ($3,806) and zone A the lowest ($686). Coastal high-hazard zone VE is listed, with 702 policies. With 76,344 residential NFIP policies effective 2025, Lee County has the 5th most of 339 counties with all four FEMA sources, and the 3rd most of 43 Florida counties of that list. Residential NFIP policies counted by FEMA fell 17.7% between 2019 (92,816) and 2025 (76,344); the count peaked in 2020 (94,536).
| Flood zone group | Policies | Q1 | Median | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFHA (A, AE, AH, AO, AR, A99, V, VE) | 61,906 | $1,253 | $1,968 | $3,210 |
| Outside SFHA (X, B, C) | 14,438 | $973 | $1,083 | $1,087 |
By flood zone
| Flood zone | Policies | Q1 | Median | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AE | 60,158 | $1,259 | $1,973 | $3,216 |
| X | 14,438 | $973 | $1,083 | $1,087 |
| VE | 702 | $1,467 | $3,806 | $6,469 |
| AH | 643 | $845 | $1,013 | $1,156 |
| A | 379 | $521 | $686 | $1,087 |
Policies in force by year
| Year | Policies |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 92,816 |
| 2020 | 94,536 |
| 2021 | 93,467 |
| 2022 | 79,119 |
| 2023 | 79,088 |
| 2024 | 78,053 |
| 2025 | 76,344 |
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 76,344 policies.
NFIP paid building claims in Lee County
NFIP claims: amounts paid, not repair cost. Window: year of loss 2015-2024; 29,920 paid claims; median $69,662, half of them between $16,586 (Q1) and $138,180 (Q3), in nominal dollars. Median in 2024 dollars (CPI-U): $74,170, a monetary adjustment, not today’s cost of repair.
One event weighs on these figures: Hurricane Ian accounts for 74.6% of the paid claims in Lee County, the next event (Hurricane Milton) for 11.6%. These figures largely reflect that one disaster. 2022 alone holds 74.7% of the paid claims (year of loss 2015-2024). With 29,920 paid claims (year of loss 2015-2024), Lee County has the 2nd most of 339 counties with all four FEMA sources, and the most of 43 Florida counties of that list.
| Event | Paid claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Ian | 22,317 | 74.6% |
| Hurricane Milton | 3,457 | 11.6% |
| Hurricane Helene | 2,324 | 7.8% |
| Hurricane Irma | 1,066 | 3.6% |
| Hurricane Debby | 69 | 0.2% |
Paid claims by year of loss
| Year of loss | Paid claims |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 9 |
| 2016 | 22 |
| 2017 | 1,428 |
| 2018 | 8 |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2020 | 89 |
| 2021 | 10 |
| 2022 | 22,356 |
| 2023 | 47 |
| 2024 | 5,948 |
FEMA disaster declarations
Since 2000: 20 flood, hurricane and severe-storm declarations (DR and EM) covering Lee County, 13 of them major disaster declarations.
| Incident type | Declarations |
|---|---|
| Flood | 0 |
| Hurricane | 16 |
| Severe Storm | 4 |
Latest declarations
- DR-4834: HURRICANE MILTON (Hurricane, 2024-10-11)
- EM-3622: HURRICANE MILTON (Hurricane, 2024-10-07)
- DR-4828: HURRICANE HELENE (Hurricane, 2024-09-28)
- DR-4734: HURRICANE IDALIA (Hurricane, 2023-08-31)
- DR-4680: HURRICANE NICOLE (Hurricane, 2022-12-13)
FEMA assistance to homeowners
Since 2002: 93,931 owner registrations inspected by FEMA in Lee County 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 | 21,476 |
| $1-$10,000 | 46,121 |
| $10,001-$20,000 | 10,797 |
| $20,001-$30,000 | 4,631 |
| More than $30,000 | 10,906 |
Disasters with the most inspections
- DR-4673, HURRICANE IAN (declared 2022-09-29): 44,305 inspections
- DR-4337, HURRICANE IRMA (declared 2017-09-10): 21,574 inspections
- DR-1539, TROPICAL STORM BONNIE AND HURRICANE CHARLEY (declared 2004-08-13): 15,088 inspections
- DR-1609, HURRICANE WILMA (declared 2005-10-24): 5,694 inspections
- DR-4834, HURRICANE MILTON (declared 2024-10-11): 4,089 inspections
NFIP communities and flood maps
FEMA’s Community Status Book places 7 NFIP communities in Lee County alone; 7 of them (100.0%) are classed in the Community Rating System (CRS). The best class among the communities counted here is 5 (Bonita Springs, City of, Cape Coral, City of, Fort Myers Beach, Town of and 2 more): FEMA applies that 25% discount to the full-risk premium of Regular Program NFIP policies in those communities, inside or outside the SFHA, not to the whole county; a policy can be excluded if its building does not comply with local floodplain rules. The oldest flood map still in effect in Lee County dates from 2022-11-17 (Bonita Springs, City of).
| Community | In the NFIP | CRS class | CRS discount (all policies) | Map in effect | First FIRM | Sanction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonita Springs, City of | yes | 5 | 25% | 2022-11-17 | 1984-09-19 | — |
| Cape Coral, City of | yes | 5 | 25% | 2022-11-17 | 1981-08-17 | — |
| Fort Myers Beach, Town of | yes | 5 | 25% | 2022-11-17 | 1984-09-19 | — |
| Lee County* | yes | 5 | 25% | 2022-11-17 | 1984-09-19 | — |
| Sanibel, City of | yes | 5 | 25% | 2022-11-17 | 1979-04-16 | — |
| Estero, Village of | yes | 6 | 20% | 2022-11-17 | 1984-09-19 | — |
| Fort Myers, City of | yes | 6 | 20% | 2022-11-17 | 1979-04-16 | — |
Questions about flood insurance in Lee County
How much is flood insurance in Lee County?
NFIP policyholders in Lee County paid a median of $1,663 for residential policies effective 2025 (76,344 policies; FEMA field policyCost: premium, reserve fund assessment, federal policy fee and HFIAA surcharge); half paid between $1,083 and $2,879; $1,968 inside the Special Flood Hazard Area against $1,083 outside it: what NFIP policyholders paid, not a quote.
How many flood insurance claims has Lee County had?
29,920 NFIP building claims were paid (year of loss 2015-2024), with a median of $69,662; the year with the most was 2022 (22,356), and the named event with the most was Hurricane Ian (22,317). These are amounts paid, not repair cost.
Is Lee County in a flood zone?
Of the residential NFIP policies of Lee County (policies effective 2025), 61,906 are rated inside the Special Flood Hazard Area and 14,438 outside it (zones listed: AE, X, VE, AH, A), but these aggregates cannot tell the flood zone of an address: FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center shows it for a given property.
Statewide figures: Florida flood insurance data.
Named storms with paid claims in Lee County
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 county figure can rest on one disaster, and FEMA’s county code may not be the county where every property stands. Method and limits.
Source and notice
- Dominant event: Hurricane Ian = 0.746 of paid claims 2015-2024.
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).