West Virginia, New Mexico, Louisiana lead top 10 states with highest uninsured home rates
While homeowners can save money in the short term by forgoing home insurance, a damaging weather event or other disaster could threaten that asset. Climate change is increasing the probability of severe, destructive weather. It means that homeowners who may not have previously experienced severe weather now face the threat of significant damage.
Insurance companies are re-evaluating as risk shifts. Home insurance non-renewals increased by 267% in Louisiana between 2018 and 2023.[2] And, when the cost of protection becomes unaffordable, some homeowners opt to go without insurance.
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1. West Virginia
Percentage of uninsured homes: 23.9%
Average annual cost of home insurance: $1,387
Median household income: $60,798
West Virginia’s low housing costs likely contribute to its high rate of uninsured homes. Homeowners may be able to pay off their mortgages faster, which could explain why West Virginia has the highest share of homeowners without a mortgage, at 55.1%.
West Virginia also has a low cost of living and well-below-average home insurance costs, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC).[3] It has the lowest average home value in the country, according to the Zillow Home Value Index, boosted by a high prevalence of manufactured housing. The state also has a 75.5% homeownership rate — the highest in the U.S., according to census data.
But West Virginia also has the second-lowest median household income, at $60,798 annually. Raleigh and Wood counties have the highest uninsured home rates in the state and the lowest median household incomes.
About 6.2% of homeowners without a mortgage statewide are “house poor,” meaning they spend 30% or more of their income on housing costs, according to an Insurify analysis of ACS data. The national average is 5.4%.
West Virginia also has a high overall climate vulnerability, according to the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index.[4] Dam failures, earthquakes, floods, landslides, levee/floodwall failure, and severe storms are all “hazards of concern,” according to West Virginia’s 2023 Hazard Mitigation Plan.[5]
2. New Mexico
Percentage of uninsured homes: 23%
Average annual cost of home insurance: $2,463
Median household income: $67,816
Like in West Virginia, New Mexico’s high uninsured home rate is likely partly due to 50.6% of homeowners not having a mortgage. A lower number of mortgages means fewer homeowners are required to buy insurance.
But New Mexico faces changing climate hazards, notably hail, riverine flooding, and wildfires, which can make going uninsured financially risky.[6] New Mexico also ranks high in terms of climate vulnerability.
Home values and insurance costs in New Mexico rank below the national average. The low cost of living and high share of manufactured homes may contribute to the high 71.1% homeowner rate.
Still, the low median household income of $67,816 means home costs take up more of residents’ budgets. In New Mexico, homeowners spend 24% of their income on housing costs, including insurance, taxes, maintenance, utilities, and flood insurance, according to an Insurify report.
New Mexico has large Native American reservations, which often lack access to financial and mortgage products due to low lender participation.[7] Federal land ownership and credit issues create other barriers.[8] The uninsured home rate is 30% in San Juan County, home to a large Navajo Nation reservation. The median household income there is also below the state average.
3. Louisiana
Percentage of uninsured homes: 21.2%
Average annual cost of home insurance: $5,132
Median household income: $60,986
More than 1 in 5 Louisiana homes are uninsured, representing unprecedented financial risk given the state’s hurricane exposure. Around 48.2% of Louisiana homeowners don’t have a mortgage. Many mortgage-free homeowners may try to save money by going uninsured, especially as the state’s median household income of $60,986 is the third-lowest in the nation.
Louisiana is also the second most expensive state for home insurance, according to Insurify data. Insured homeowners carry the highest cost burden of any state, spending 8.4% of their income on home insurance. About 6.1% of Louisiana homeowners are house poor — more than the national average.
Terrebonne Parish, a coastal region southwest of New Orleans, has the highest uninsured home rate in the state, at 29.7%. Due to its hurricane exposure, the parish has a relatively high risk index, and insurance premiums reflect that risk. The average annual cost of home insurance is $8,316 in Terrebonne, according to Insurify data.
Louisiana has pushed for strong building codes and incentivized weather-mitigation renovations to help homeowners reduce damage and the possibility of expensive repairs.[9] Homeowners who can afford to invest in resilience improvements can also save on their home insurance.
4. Alaska
Percentage of uninsured homes: 20.6%
Average annual cost of home insurance: $1,377
Median household income: $95,665
Alaska’s exceptionally high cost of living may squeeze budgets enough for homeowners to try to save money by going without insurance. Between April and June in 2025, Alaska ranked sixth for the overall cost of living, behind Hawaii, California, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., and New York, according to MERIC.
About 39.6% of Alaska homeowners don’t have a mortgage, and the state has a much higher median household income and lower-than-average insurance costs. But Alaskans — particularly those living in cities — face utility, healthcare, and grocery costs that exceed the national average, according to a 2024 survey by the Council for Community and Economic Relations.[10]
Climate risks, including avalanches, wildfires, volcanic activity, and earthquakes, can also compound the financial consequences of forgoing home insurance in the state.
5. Mississippi
Percentage of uninsured homes: 20.2%
Average annual cost of home insurance: $3,427
Median household income: $59,127
More than half of Mississippi homeowners (51.6%) don’t have a mortgage, and Mississippi is among the 10 most expensive states for home insurance, according to Insurify data. Since Mississippi has the lowest median household income in the country, homeowners spend a bigger percentage of that income on home insurance.
Jones and Forrest counties have the highest percentages of uninsured homes in the state, at 26.7% and 22.6%, respectively. They also have median household incomes below the state average: $48,298 in Forrest County, the lowest in the state, and $51,748 in Jones County.
Mississippi also faces several climate-related risks, including tornadoes, hailstorms, riverine flooding, and hurricanes, particularly along the Gulf Coast, according to FEMA. Homeowners may opt to go uninsured to save money in the short term, but damage from a weather event or a house fire could leave many struggling to recover.
Around 6.6% of homeowners without a mortgage are house poor, so losing that asset could be disastrous.
6. Florida
Percentage of uninsured homes: 19.4%
Average annual cost of home insurance: $8,491
Median household income: $77,735
Florida is the most expensive state for home insurance, according to Insurify data, largely due to its climate risk. And even with a higher median household income, Florida ties Louisiana for the highest insurance cost burden.
Home insurance costs 8.4% of the median income in Florida, more than three times the national average. The state tops the list for homeownership costs, which take up 37% of household income, according to an Insurify report.
Around 44.2% of Florida homeowners don’t have a mortgage, which is higher than the national average but lower than most states on this list. But 7.8% of homeowners without a mortgage are house poor, the highest share nationwide.
As in other states, affordability is likely a contributing factor to the high rate of uninsured homes. More than 1 in 3 (37.7%) homes in Putnam County are uninsured, the highest rate in the state. Putnam County also has the lowest median household income statewide, at $51,293.
Florida’s high hurricane exposure, as well as wildfire and tornado risks in certain areas, can drive up insurance costs. But those hazards also make opting out of home insurance exceptionally risky.
Miami-Dade County, for example, has a high uninsured home rate, despite its hurricane and wildfire risk. Its median household income is $76,184, close to the state average, but home insurance costs $16,872 per year — a staggering 22% of median household income.
7. Arkansas
Percentage of uninsured homes: 19.1%
Average annual cost of home insurance: $2,621
Median household income: $62,106
Climate risks have a less acute effect on insurance costs in Arkansas than in Florida. But weather events like severe hailstorms, tornadoes, and wildfires still threaten properties around the state.
Arkansas’ percentage of uninsured homes is likely linked to its high 47.6% share of homeowners who don’t have a mortgage. Home insurance costs are much more moderate in Arkansas than in nearby states like Louisiana and Oklahoma, Insurify data shows. But home insurance still costs 4.2% of the median household income, the seventh-highest nationwide.
White, Jefferson, and Garland counties have the highest uninsured home rates in the state. Jefferson and White counties also have the lowest median household incomes in Arkansas. The Garland County median income is closer to the state average, but Garland has the highest share of house-poor homeowners without a mortgage, at 8.4%.
8. Alabama
Percentage of uninsured homes: 18.9%
Average annual cost of home insurance: $3,190
Median household income: $66,659
Alabama’s high percentage of homeowners without a mortgage (46.5%) contributes to its 18.9% rate of uninsured homes statewide. But the picture shifts dramatically depending on different regions in the state. Alabama has the fourth-lowest median household income in the country, and, though costs spike along the Gulf, insurance costs are more moderate than in neighboring states.
Shelby County has the lowest rate of uninsured homes in the state, at 10.8%. The median household income there is $102,265, the highest in the state. And, despite its high tornado risk, Shelby County has the cheapest average insurance premiums in the state. Home insurance costs make up 2.2% of the median income. Just 2.7% of homeowners without a mortgage are house poor.
In Walker County, on the other side of Birmingham, 32.6% of homes are uninsured, and 6.7% of homeowners without a mortgage are house poor. Insured homeowners spend 5.6% of their median household income of $58,017 on insurance.
9. Oklahoma
Percentage of uninsured homes: 18.3%
Average annual cost of home insurance: $4,058
Median household income: $66,148
Oklahoma is the third most expensive state for home insurance, according to Insurify data. Hailstorms, tornadoes, and severe wind have increased insurer losses, which policyholders feel in premiums.
High insurance costs can squeeze the budget: Oklahoma has one of the lowest median household incomes in the U.S., and insurance costs can eat up 6.1% of that income. It also has a high rate of homeowners without a mortgage, which likely contributes to its higher percentage of uninsured homes.
Muskogee County, home to part of the Muskogee Nation reservation, has a 25.8% uninsured home rate. Oklahoma has the largest population of people who chose American Indian as their only race, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.[11] As in New Mexico, Native American reservations can lack mortgage access, which may contribute to higher rates of uninsured homes. The county’s median income is also below the state average.
The Oklahoma county with the lowest uninsured home rate, Canadian County, also has the highest median household income. And, even though insurance costs are higher there than in Muskogee County, they account for 5.3% of the median income versus Muskogee’s 6.6%.
10. Texas
Percentage of uninsured homes: 17.7%
Average annual cost of home insurance: $3,610
Median household income: $79,721
In Texas, 44.5% of homeowners don’t have a mortgage — more than the national average. And, though the median household income is higher than in many states on this list, more costly premiums mean insured homeowners pay 4.5% of that income to home insurance.
Since Texas is such a large state, climate risks vary considerably. Galveston County, located southeast of Houston on the Gulf Coast, is the most expensive county in Texas for home insurance due to its hurricane exposure. But, likely due to that risk and its above-average median income, it has one of the lowest uninsured home rates, at 10.7%.
Three Texas counties — Liberty, Hidalgo, and Cameron — are among the 10 counties with the highest uninsured home rates in the country.
In Liberty, northeast of Houston, 45.6% of homes are uninsured — the second-highest percentage nationwide. Climate risks from lightning storms and tornadoes may contribute to the county’s above-average insurance costs. Homeowners with insurance pay 6.7% of the county’s median income of $60,963 to cover premiums, higher than the 4.5% average share that insured homeowners pay statewide.
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