Original analysis · Harris County
Updated August 24, 2026We pulled every National Flood Insurance Program claim FEMA has recorded in Harris County — 170,843 of them — and compared each one against the flood zone it was rated in. The answer reframes what a “low-risk” label is worth in this city.
Over loss years 2014 to 2024, 50.8% of Harris County National Flood Insurance Program claims were rated outside the high-risk flood zone, against 29.1% nationally over the same window — and that national figure reproduces FEMA's own published statistic. Across all years on record, 170,843 Harris County claims have paid roughly $8.7 billion, and 54.9% of them were rated outside the high-risk zone. In 41 of the 105 Harris County ZIP codes with meaningful claim volume, at least 70% of flood claims came from properties the maps did not rate as high risk.
This page publishes aggregate Harris County NFIP claim statistics by ZIP code — claim counts, dollars paid, and the share of claims rated outside the Special Flood Hazard Area.
Ranked by total NFIP dollars paid. The last column is the one worth reading twice: it is the share of each ZIP’s claims that were rated outside the high-risk flood zone.
| ZIP | Area | Claims paid | Total paid | Mean | Median | Outside high-risk zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77096 | Meyerland | 5,551 | $689.1M | $124,134 | $100,500 | 29.3% |
| 77079 | Energy Corridor | 2,896 | $430.0M | $148,479 | $82,476 | 83.8% |
| 77339 | Kingwood | 2,831 | $323.9M | $114,405 | $60,000 | 37.1% |
| 77084 | Bear Creek / Addicks | 2,626 | $272.4M | $103,730 | $80,342 | 70.3% |
| 77025 | Braeswood / Knollwood | 2,572 | $256.9M | $99,890 | $72,703 | 19.2% |
| 77401 | Bellaire | 2,860 | $253.7M | $88,715 | $55,843 | 24.7% |
| 77089 | Southbelt / Ellington | 5,761 | $249.8M | $43,358 | $23,094 | 64.1% |
| 77429 | Cypress | 2,407 | $219.4M | $91,160 | $71,993 | 62.7% |
| 77024 | Memorial / Villages | 2,547 | $201.8M | $79,219 | $30,352 | 82.3% |
| 77070 | Champions / Willowbrook | 1,599 | $198.1M | $123,899 | $105,127 | 69.3% |
| 77074 | Sharpstown | 2,441 | $176.3M | $72,240 | $51,889 | 19.4% |
| 77088 | Acres Homes | 4,152 | $174.5M | $42,030 | $35,213 | 24.7% |
Two entries stand out. In 77079 (Energy Corridor) and 77024 (Memorial), more than eight in ten claims came from properties rated outside the high-risk zone — the signature of the Addicks and Barker reservoir releases, which flooded homes the maps treated as moderate risk. 77096 (Meyerland) is the opposite profile: the largest total paid in the county, but most of it from inside the mapped high-risk area, where flooding was expected and coverage was often required.
Hurricane Harvey produced 48,990 Harris County NFIP claims in the records analyzed here. 42,403 of them paid, averaging $126,389 — but the median payment was $93,196.
That single storm represents around 29% of all Harris County claims on record and about 61% of all dollars paid. It is the reason the county-wide outside-the-zone share sits where it does: Harvey flooded an enormous number of homes that no flood map had rated as high risk.
The practical implication is not that maps are useless. It is that in Harris County the map answers a narrower question than most people assume — whether a lender can require coverage, and how the policy is priced — and a much weaker one about whether water will reach the house.
Published so the numbers can be checked rather than taken on faith.
Source and scope. Every claim record in FEMA’s OpenFEMA NFIP Claims dataset with a Harris County county code, retrieved August 24, 2026 — 170,843 records. Totals combine building and contents payments. Averages are per claim paid, not per claim filed: 30,753 of those records paid nothing, and dividing by filed claims would understate what a paying claim actually paid. Only aggregates are published; FEMA’s terms prohibit republishing anything that could identify an individual property or person.
What “outside the high-risk zone” means. A claim counts as outside when its rated flood zone did not begin with A or V — that is, it was not rated in a Special Flood Hazard Area. Zone was recorded for 167,346 of the 170,843 records, or 98%. The remaining 2% are excluded from the percentage rather than assumed either way.
Mean versus median. Across all years, a paying Harris County claim averaged $62,397 but the median was $29,437 — less than half. The distribution is dragged upward by catastrophes, so an average alone overstates what a typical claimant receives. Both are published here for that reason.
Three real limitations. First, these are insured losses only — uninsured flooding is invisible here, and Harris County’s flood-insurance take-up rate is low, so true damage is far larger. Second, NFIP building coverage caps at $250,000, so large losses are recorded at the cap and average-paid figures understate real damage. Third, a claim’s rated zone reflects the map in force when it was written; zones have been remapped repeatedly since 1978, and FEMA released new draft Harris County maps in February 2026.
Attribution. 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). Dataset: OpenFEMA Dataset: NFIP Claims - v3, retrieved 2026-08-24.
ZIP-level data shows a pattern; it does not price your house. To turn this into a decision, start with the Houston flood insurance review, read what the zone letters mean, check the September 30 NFIP deadline, or browse the flood insurance questions people ask most.
In Harris County, 54.9% of National Flood Insurance Program claims were rated outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area, based on 170,843 claim records. The national figure from the same dataset is 26.7%, so a Harris County flood claim is about twice as likely as a typical American one to come from a property the maps did not rate as high risk.
By dollars paid, 77096 (Meyerland) leads with roughly $689 million across 6,481 claims. By share of claims from outside the high-risk zone, 77079 (Energy Corridor) and 77024 (Memorial) stand out — both above 82%, reflecting the Addicks and Barker reservoir releases during Hurricane Harvey.
No. In 41 of the 105 Harris County ZIP codes with meaningful claim volume, at least 70% of flood claims came from properties rated outside the high-risk zone. A moderate- or low-risk rating changes whether a lender requires coverage and what it costs, not whether water can reach the house.
Roughly $8.7 billion across Harris County since 1978 in the records analyzed here. Hurricane Harvey alone accounts for 48,990 claims and about $5.4 billion, averaging around $109,000 per claim.
It is aggregated from FEMA's OpenFEMA NFIP Claims dataset, retrieved August 24, 2026 and filtered to Harris County. Only aggregate totals are published here. This product uses FEMA's OpenFEMA API but is not endorsed by FEMA.
1235 North Loop W, Ste 1010, Houston, TX 77008. Call or text your address and the office can pull your zone, explain what it means for your loan and premium, and handle the whole conversation in English or Spanish.
Look up your zone, run the checker for a quick read, then call the Houston office with your address and the parts you want a licensed answer on.
This guide is general education for Houston-area readers. It is not a quote, an eligibility decision, an offer of coverage, or financial, tax, or legal advice.
Flood zones, maps, Base Flood Elevations, and program rules are set by FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program, which are independent of this agency.
Always confirm your zone and current rules for your specific address at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center, especially near a zone boundary or after a remap.
Coverage is subject to terms, conditions, limits, availability, underwriting, and qualifications. Message and data rates may apply; consent to texts is not a condition of purchase.