South Carolina
flood insurance data

NFIP premiums in South Carolina

NFIP premiums: what NFIP policyholders paid, not a quote. Across 119,542 policies (policies effective 2025; occupancy: residential (occupancyType 1,2,3,11,12,13,14); amount: FEMA field policyCost), the median is $917, and half of them fall between $658 (Q1) and $1,165 (Q3).

Residential NFIP policies counted by FEMA fell 25.1% between 2019 (159,619) and 2025 (119,542); the count peaked in 2020 (167,673). With 119,542 residential NFIP policies effective 2025, South Carolina has the 5th most of 53 States and territories. The median NFIP premium in South Carolina, $917, is 13.1% below the national median ($1,055); it is the 11th lowest of 53 States and territories.

By flood zone

Policies in force by year

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 119,542 policies.

NFIP paid building claims in South Carolina

NFIP claims: amounts paid, not repair cost. Window: year of loss 2015-2024; 15,891 paid claims; median $14,847, half of them between $5,239 (Q1) and $37,799 (Q3), in nominal dollars. Median in 2024 dollars (CPI-U): $18,692, a monetary adjustment, not today’s cost of repair.

With 15,891 paid claims (year of loss 2015-2024), South Carolina has the 5th most of 53 States and territories. The named event with the most paid claims in South Carolina, Hurricane Matthew, accounts for 31.3% of them, ahead of October severe storms (24.8%): no single event holds a majority. The paid claims are spread over the years (year of loss 2015-2024): the busiest, 2016, holds 32.1% of them.

Paid claims by year of loss

FEMA disaster declarations

Since 2000: 22 flood, hurricane and severe-storm declarations (DR and EM) covering South Carolina, 14 of them major disaster declarations.

South Carolina counts 22 flood, hurricane and severe-storm declarations (DR and EM) since 2000, the 21st fewest of 53 States and territories. Hurricane declarations are the most frequent (15), ahead of Severe Storm (5) and Flood (2).

Latest declarations

• DR-4858: SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING (Flood, 2025-01-10)
• DR-4829: HURRICANE HELENE (Hurricane, 2024-09-29)
• EM-3597: HURRICANE IDALIA (Hurricane, 2023-08-31)
• DR-4677: HURRICANE IAN (Hurricane, 2022-11-21)
• EM-3585: HURRICANE IAN (Hurricane, 2022-09-29)

FEMA assistance to homeowners

Since 2002: 152,671 owner registrations inspected by FEMA in South Carolina after disasters of every declared type; inspected damage is FEMA’s assessment for its assistance program, not repair cost.

Disasters with the most inspections

• DR-4241, SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING (declared 2015-10-05): 63,323 inspections
• DR-4829, HURRICANE HELENE (declared 2024-09-29): 44,609 inspections
• DR-4286, HURRICANE MATTHEW (declared 2016-10-11): 25,057 inspections
• DR-4394, HURRICANE FLORENCE (declared 2018-09-16): 9,699 inspections
• DR-1566, TROPICAL STORM FRANCES (declared 2004-10-07): 6,769 inspections

NFIP communities and flood maps

FEMA’s Community Status Book lists 269 NFIP communities in South Carolina: 240 participate in the NFIP and 49 (18.2%) are classed in the Community Rating System (CRS). The best class among the communities counted here is 2 (Charleston County*): FEMA applies its CRS discount to the full-risk premium of Regular Program NFIP policies in that community, inside or outside the SFHA, not to the whole state; a policy can be excluded if its building does not comply with local floodplain rules. The oldest flood map still in effect in South Carolina dates from 2006-12-19 (Bethune, Town of). 29 of these communities do not participate in the NFIP; 29 carry a sanction, 3 coded as a suspension and 0 as a withdrawal.

In South Carolina, 6.3% of the Status Book’s communities span several counties or match no county by name, so community counts by county are partial there.

Questions about flood insurance in South Carolina

How much is flood insurance in South Carolina?

NFIP policyholders in South Carolina paid a median of $917 for residential policies effective 2025 (119,542 policies; FEMA field policyCost: premium, reserve fund assessment, federal policy fee and HFIAA surcharge); half paid between $658 and $1,165; $1,037 inside the Special Flood Hazard Area against $702 outside it: what NFIP policyholders paid, not a quote.

How many flood insurance claims has South Carolina had?

15,891 NFIP building claims were paid (year of loss 2015-2024), with a median of $14,847; the year with the most was 2016 (5,101), and the named event with the most was Hurricane Matthew (4,970). These are amounts paid, not repair cost.

Is South Carolina in a flood zone?

Of the residential NFIP policies of South Carolina (policies effective 2025), 64,594 are rated inside the Special Flood Hazard Area and 54,948 outside it (zones listed: AE, X, VE, A, AO), but these aggregates cannot tell the flood zone of an address: FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center shows it for a given property.

Counties of South Carolina

• Charleston County

Named storms with paid claims in South Carolina

• Hurricane Helene
• Hurricane Ian
• Hurricane Irma
• Hurricane Matthew
• Hurricane Florence
• Hurricane Idalia
• Hurricane Isaias
• Hurricane Debby

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

• Owners assistance: county names not matched to a FIPS code (counted in the State total only): Catawba Indian Nation (no match, 284 inspected)

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).