Flood zones, flood insurance and FEMA help, in plain English

Idaho flood insurance and flood history

From FEMA's flood insurance and disaster data · Updated 2026-10-08

1,116NFIP flood claims since 1978
$10.4 millionPaid on those claims
$18,759Average paid claimlast 10 years
0.5%Homes with NFIP flood insurance
$1,090Typical yearly NFIP costsingle-family home
12Flood disaster declarationssince 2000

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 1,116 flood insurance claims in Idaho since 1978. The NFIP paid $10.4 million on them (building, contents and Increased Cost of Compliance payments, in the dollars of the year paid).

The year with the most claims was 2017, with 237.

In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 359 claims, and the average paid claim was $18,759.

40% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).

About 0.5% of homes in Idaho had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (3,768 of 691,150 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 19% (2,641 of 13,801).

Since 2000, FEMA has made 12 flood-related disaster declarations covering parts of Idaho. The most recent was DR-4917-ID (Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides), declared June 30, 2026.

Flood insurance claims in Idaho by year

NFIP flood claims per year in Idaho, 1978 to 2026062.5125187.52501978: 3 claims, $9,327 paid1979: 35 claims, $127,180 paid1980: 25 claims, $88,204 paid19801981: 9 claims, $289 paid1982: 41 claims, $69,682 paid1983: 21 claims, $75,885 paid1984: 19 claims, $81,679 paid1985: 4 claims, $25,566 paid1986: 4 claims, $12,425 paid1987: 1 claims, $0 paid1989: 4 claims, $2,520 paid1990: 9 claims, $44,752 paid19901991: 1 claims, $0 paid1992: 9 claims, $2,712 paid1993: 3 claims, $500 paid1995: 27 claims, $73,399 paid1996: 104 claims, $1.7 million paid1997: 138 claims, $1.7 million paid1998: 12 claims, $28,490 paid1999: 10 claims, $25,986 paid2000: 6 claims, $1,851 paid20002001: 2 claims, $3,430 paid2002: 16 claims, $116,677 paid2003: 2 claims, $19,487 paid2004: 6 claims, $4,608 paid2005: 13 claims, $86,667 paid2006: 62 claims, $496,887 paid2007: 4 claims, $0 paid2008: 28 claims, $153,642 paid2009: 26 claims, $135,971 paid2010: 17 claims, $240,610 paid20102011: 28 claims, $237,566 paid2012: 19 claims, $25,524 paid2013: 11 claims, $28,466 paid2014: 18 claims, $31,610 paid2015: 15 claims, $29,333 paid2016: 5 claims, $17,566 paid2017: 237 claims, $3.4 million paid2018: 19 claims, $302,802 paid2019: 35 claims, $424,586 paid2020: 5 claims, $7,617 paid20202021: 4 claims, $2,913 paid2022: 6 claims, $11,096 paid2023: 31 claims, $435,951 paid2024: 5 claims, $6,788 paid2025: 6 claims, $44,752 paid2026: 11 claims, $138,059 paid
NFIP claims per year by year of loss. Hover or tap a bar for the count and amount paid. 2026 is partial.
Show as a table
YearClaimsPaid
202611$138,059
20256$44,752
20245$6,788
202331$435,951
20226$11,096
20214$2,913
20205$7,617
201935$424,586
201819$302,802
2017237$3.4 million
20165$17,566
201515$29,333
201418$31,610
201311$28,466
201219$25,524
201128$237,566
201017$240,610
200926$135,971
200828$153,642
20074$0
200662$496,887
200513$86,667
20046$4,608
20032$19,487
200216$116,677
20012$3,430
20006$1,851
199910$25,986
199812$28,490
1997138$1.7 million
1996104$1.7 million
199527$73,399
19933$500
19929$2,712
19911$0
19909$44,752
19894$2,520
19871$0
19864$12,425
19854$25,566
198419$81,679
198321$75,885
198241$69,682
19819$289
198025$88,204
197935$127,180
19783$9,327

Biggest flood events by NFIP payments

The flood events FEMA's claims data names most often for Idaho, ranked by what the NFIP paid. FEMA names events in its claims records; claims without an event name aren't included here.

EventYearClaimsPaid
Flooding199688$1.7 million
Flooding199723$879,148
Tropical Storm Hilary20231$0

What flood insurance costs in Idaho

On June 30, 2026, 4,772 NFIP flood insurance policies were in force in Idaho. For the 3,378 single-family homes among them, the typical (median) yearly cost was about $1,090; the average was $1,210.

Rated flood zonePoliciesTypical yearly cost, single-family homeAverage costAverage building coverage
High-risk zones (A and V)3,501$1,040$1,250$222,000
Moderate- and low-risk zones (B, C and X)1,253$1,090$1,120$240,000

Cost here is what FEMA's data lists as the policy cost: the premium plus the reserve fund assessment, federal policy fee and HFIAA surcharge. It covers single-family homes only (not condos, apartments or businesses), with costs rounded to the nearest $10 and shown only where at least 20 homes back the figure. Your own price depends on your building and the coverage you choose; see how flood insurance is priced. Private flood insurance isn't included.

Policies and average cost by exact flood zone
Rated zonePoliciesAverage cost, single-family home
AE2,473$1,270
X1,166$1,120
AO439$940
A416$1,330
C84$1,070
A0442$1,330
A0237$1,100
AH24$880
A0320n/a
D17n/a
A0612n/a
A058n/a
A087n/a
A016n/a
A105n/a

Flood history by county

Every Idaho county in FEMA's data, sorted by number of NFIP claims since 1978. "Insured" is the share of homes with an NFIP policy; "typical NFIP cost" is the median yearly cost for single-family homes.

CountyClaimsPaidInsuredTypical NFIP costFlood declarations
Blaine County309$3.9 million2.8%$1,4101
Ada County133$498,9250.9%$1,0601
Shoshone County108$925,5181.6%$1,4404
Kootenai County91$746,3860.3%$1,1103
Latah County61$744,0530.9%$9903
Bannock County40$115,0080.3%$8400
Bonner County40$156,0370.5%$1,3103
Benewah County34$618,1030.9%$1,5102
Bingham County31$99,4830.5%$9601
Canyon County29$101,5710.5%$8601
Payette County26$246,8200.2%$9401
Lemhi County24$267,1020.6%$1,4100
Washington County23$990,6541.0%$9402
Jefferson County18$115,6650.3%$7601
Bonneville County17$39,6680.2%$1,0900
Twin Falls County16$24,8090.2%$5601
Elmore County11$108,0250.8%$7402
Madison County9$19,9230.2%n/a0
Clearwater County8$36,5480.2%n/a3
Fremont County7$90,1300.2%n/a0
Gooding County6$33,8790.6%$1,1102
Nez Perce County6$30,5620.2%$9603
Idaho County5$9,8910.1%n/a5
Lincoln County5$35,5110.2%n/a1
Minidoka County5$187,2910.1%n/a1
Adams County4$9,3880.3%n/a2
Gem County4$19,2200.3%$9101
Teton County4$25,4651.0%$1,3400
Boundary County3$8,3950.2%n/a1
Cassia County2$63,4400.2%n/a1
Boise County1$35,6450.4%$1,3400
Caribou County1$8,0230.1%n/a0
Custer County1$1,9020.4%n/a1
Franklin County1$2,5250.1%n/a1
Jerome County1$00.0%n/a1
Oneida County1$00.0%n/a0
Valley County1$00.2%n/a3
Bear Lake County0$00.0%n/a0
Butte County0$00.4%n/a0
Camas County0$00.5%n/a1
Clark County0$00.0%n/a0
Lewis County0$00.9%n/a3
Owyhee County0$00.1%n/a1
Power County0$00.0%n/a0

Flood-related FEMA disaster declarations in Idaho

Declarations since 2000 that FEMA lists as involving flooding. "Help for individuals" means FEMA's Individual Assistance was approved for at least part of the area.

DeclarationDeclaredEventHelp for individuals
DR-4917-ID Jun 30, 2026 Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No
DR-4789-ID Jun 10, 2024 Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No
DR-4443-ID Jun 12, 2019 Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No
DR-4342-ID Oct 7, 2017 Flooding No
DR-4333-ID Aug 27, 2017 Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No
DR-4313-ID May 18, 2017 Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No
DR-4310-ID Apr 21, 2017 Severe Winter Storms and Flooding No
DR-1987-ID May 20, 2011 Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No
DR-1927-ID Jul 27, 2010 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-1781-ID Jul 31, 2008 Flooding No
DR-1630-ID Feb 27, 2006 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-1592-ID Jul 6, 2005 Heavy Rains and Flooding No

What to do with this

A county's history doesn't tell you your own building's risk. To see your property's flood zone, use FEMA's flood map lookup. To weigh coverage, start with do I need flood insurance? and what flood insurance costs.

Where these numbers come from

All figures on this page are calculated from FEMA's public OpenFEMA datasets:

FEMA's redacted claims data doesn't identify properties, and FEMA notes that some records lack a county or flood zone. See how we use the data.