What Does Homeowners Insurance Cost Per Month? (2026)
The Short Answer: Cost Per Month and Per Year
Homeowners insurance in the US averages $2,490 a year — about $208 a month — according to NerdWallet's 2026 analysis of pricing from more than 100 insurance companies in every state. Insurance.com's separate 2026 benchmark lands close by at $2,543 a year, or $212 a month. If you are budgeting for a home purchase, $200–$215 a month is a realistic national starting point.
NerdWallet's average assumes a specific policy: a 40-year-old homeowner with good credit, $400,000 in dwelling coverage, $300,000 in liability coverage, and a $1,000 deductible; Insurance.com's benchmark is based on a $300,000 home with the same $1,000 deductible. If your rebuild cost is lower, or your deductible is $2,500, your quote should differ — so compare any quote against the same coverage specs, never against the headline average alone.
Your state and your dwelling coverage limit move the price far more than which national average you read: state averages run from under $1,000 a year in Hawaii to over $7,000 in Florida and Oklahoma.
Estimate Your Own Premium in 5 Steps (Worked Example)
Insurers price outward from rebuild cost, not from your purchase price. Here is the full math, worked from concrete inputs you can swap for your own:
- Estimate rebuild cost. Example: a 2,000-square-foot home at a conservative $200 per square foot of local construction cost = $400,000. Ask your agent or a local contractor for your area's actual per-square-foot rate rather than guessing.
- Set dwelling coverage at that rebuild figure — $400,000 here — and pair it with liability coverage (the benchmark uses $300,000) and a $1,000 deductible.
- Anchor to the benchmark. For exactly that profile, NerdWallet's 2026 national average is $2,490 a year, roughly $208 a month.
- Adjust for your state. The same profile averages $4,915 a year (about $410 a month) in Texas — $2,425 more per year than the national figure, or an extra $202 a month.
- Adjust for carrier. On Insurance.com's $300,000-home benchmark, Allstate averaged $2,049 a year while Progressive averaged $4,227 — 106% more for comparable coverage. That is a $2,178-a-year spread between two well-known brands for the same house.
Do not insure for market value. Market price includes the land, which doesn't burn down or blow away — using it can leave you paying premiums on coverage you can never claim, or badly underinsured in a hot construction market where rebuild costs exceed resale value. Always base dwelling coverage on rebuild cost.
Carrier choice alone can swing an identical policy by more than $2,100 a year, which is why step 5 — collecting three or more quotes — matters as much as any discount.
How to Cut the Cost Without Gutting Coverage
Work through these levers in order; the ones at the top usually change the number most:
- Raise your standard deductible one tier — insurers commonly quote $1,000, $2,500, and $5,000 options — and ask exactly how much each tier saves per year.
- Ask about wind-mitigation, fortified-roof, or newer-roof credits, especially in hail and hurricane states.
- Bundle home and auto with one carrier, then verify the bundle beats your best two separate quotes.
- Re-shop with at least three quotes at every renewal, not only after a rate hike.
- Recheck your dwelling limit annually against current construction costs so you are neither over- nor underinsured.
Re-shop before every renewal even if your rate looks stable. Insurance.com's 2026 data shows a $2,178 annual gap between the cheapest (Allstate, $2,049) and priciest (Progressive, $4,227) major carriers for the same benchmark home — a bigger swing than most discounts combined.
Watch two trade-offs. Coastal policies often carry a separate percentage-based hurricane deductible — 2% on a $400,000 dwelling limit means $8,000 out of pocket before wind coverage pays. And a cheap quote that pays only actual cash value on your roof deducts years of depreciation from any claim. A higher deductible saves you money only if you could comfortably pay it the week after a storm.
π Check it now on NAIC — National Association of Insurance CommissionersCost by State: Florida, Texas, and California Compared
Location is one of the biggest pricing inputs, and the state data shows why. Florida is the most expensive state in Insurance.com's 2026 analysis at $7,136 a year — $4,593 above its national average — driven by hurricane exposure, litigation costs, and expensive reinsurance. The central US pays for tornado and hail risk: Oklahoma City is the priciest large metro NerdWallet measured at $9,770 a year, with Houston at $7,855.
California is the surprise: base premiums in its big cities run well below average — San Jose at $1,475, San Francisco at $1,715, and San Diego at $1,770 a year in NerdWallet's 20-metro analysis. The catch is wildfire: homeowners in high-risk zones may be pushed to the state's FAIR Plan with separate pricing, so verify current availability with the California Department of Insurance or NAIC resources before budgeting.
| State | Average annual cost | Approx. monthly | vs. $2,490 national average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | $7,255 | $605 | +$4,765 |
| Texas | $4,915 | $410 | +$2,425 |
| National average | $2,490 | $208 | — |
| New Jersey | $1,480 | $123 | −$1,010 |
| Hawaii | $900 | $75 | −$1,590 |
Figures are NerdWallet's 2026 averages for a $400,000-dwelling policy; the difference column is our calculation. The cheapest-state headline misleads: Hawaii's $900 average excludes hurricane wind damage — standard policies there have excluded it since Hurricane Iniki in 1992, per the Insurance Information Institute, so a separate hurricane policy adds to the real total.
Common Mistakes That Make Homeowners Overpay
Most overpayment isn't about picking the wrong brand — it's about habits at renewal and claim time:
- Auto-renewing for years without re-quoting, then absorbing compounding rate hikes that new customers don't pay.
- Filing small claims barely above the deductible; the multi-year surcharge can exceed the payout.
- Assuming the standard policy covers flood or earthquake — both are excluded and require separate policies (flood through the NFIP or private carriers).
- Chasing the lowest premium while accepting actual-cash-value roof coverage or stripped liability limits, which shifts thousands in risk back to you.
The cheapest policy that fails to rebuild your house is the most expensive one you can buy — cut cost with deductibles and shopping, not by hollowing out dwelling or liability coverage. Rates cited here are 2026 averages and change with state filings, so confirm current figures with your state insurance department before deciding.
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Good to Know
What does house insurance cost per month on average?
About $208–$212 a month nationally in 2026 ($2,490–$2,543 a year), based on NerdWallet and Insurance.com benchmarks for a $300,000–$400,000 home with a $1,000 deductible. State averages range from roughly $75 a month in Hawaii to around $600 in Florida and Oklahoma.
Why is homeowners insurance so expensive in Florida?
Florida averages $7,136 a year — $4,593 above the national average — because of hurricane wind exposure, high litigation costs, and expensive reinsurance that carriers pass through to premiums. Percentage-based hurricane deductibles also raise out-of-pocket costs after storms.
Does homeowners insurance cover flood damage?
No. Standard policies exclude flood and earthquake. Flood coverage requires a separate policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (see FloodSmart.gov) or a private flood insurer, and earthquake coverage is a separate endorsement or policy.
How much dwelling coverage do I actually need?
Enough to rebuild the structure at current local construction costs — not the market price, which includes land. Estimate square footage times your area's per-square-foot construction cost, confirm it with your agent, and recheck the limit annually as building costs change.
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