FEMA Flood Zone X: Insurance Requirements, Shaded vs. Unshaded Zones Explained

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) identifies flood zones on Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs).^[1] The different flood zone categorizations correlate with a land area’s risk of flooding. Areas labeled in Zone X have a minimal to moderate flood hazard.^[2]

Still, more than 25% of flood insurance claims filed nationwide are in areas with low or moderate risk of flooding.^[3]

Knowing your flood zone is important so you can understand the flood risks your property faces. You should always make sure you have the home insurance coverage you need, including a flood insurance policy if you live in an area at risk of flooding.

Here’s what you need to know about Zone X and finding your flood zone.

Compare Home Insurance Quotes

Insurify partners with 120+ top insurers to show you real quotes

Enter your ZIP codeView My Quotes

Secure. Free. Easy-to-use.

Based on 7,669+ reviews

4.8/5

What is Flood Zone X?

Flood Zone X describes a land area with minimal to moderate flood hazard, depending on whether it’s shaded or unshaded. Unlike high-risk zones, Zone X doesn’t have a base flood elevation (BFE) — the highest level floodwaters would reach if a 100-year flood occurred.

FEMA publishes FIRMS that serve as official community maps to define Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) and the community’s specific flood zones. SFHAs are high-risk flood zones. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) uses these maps for insurance purposes, as well as floodplain management and mitigation.^[4]

Though people living in Zone X aren’t at a high risk, flooding can still occur and cause costly damage.

If you live in a Zone X community that participates in the NFIP, you have the option to buy flood insurance, but you don’t have to. But homeowners in SFHAs must purchase flood insurance.

Shaded Flood Zone X

Zone X can be shaded or unshaded on the FIRM. A shaded Zone X represents a moderate flood hazard area.

SFHAs — also sometimes called base flood zones — fall at or below base flood elevation. Properties at or below BFE are in a 100-year floodplain, meaning they have a 1% chance of flooding in a given year.

Properties in shaded Zone X or Zone B have a level of flood risk between the limits of 100-year and 500-year floods. They have a 0.2% chance of flooding each year.^[5] That adds up to a roughly 6% chance of flooding over the span of a 30-year mortgage.

Unshaded Flood Zone X

An unshaded Zone X is an area of minimal flood hazard, which presents less of a hazard than a shaded Zone X.

Unshaded Zone X has protection by a levee from a 100-year flood and falls outside the 500-year flood range.^[6]

Despite living in a low-risk area, you should still pay extra attention to your immediate surroundings. Areas of ponding and other poor drainage areas could cause shallow flooding in an unshaded Zone X, even if those potential problems weren’t big enough to warrant a higher risk rating from FEMA.

Just 1 inch of floodwater in a home can cause about $25,000 of damage.

How to find your flood zone

Follow these steps to find your flood zone:

1. Visit the FEMA Flood Map Service Center (MSC). It’s mobile-compatible, so you can use your smartphone to access the tool.

2. Enter your address. 

3. View your property’s flood zone and estimated flood risk.

FIRMs from FEMA help you understand your flood risk and serve as a good starting indicator of your flood insurance premium. FEMA quantifies flood zone risk by an area’s annual chance of flooding.

Is flood insurance required in Zone X?

No. Flood insurance generally isn’t required if you live in Zone X. But one-third of flood insurance claims come from areas with a low to moderate flood risk. Opting for a flood insurance policy can ensure your property is protected in the event of a flood.

Remember, homeowners insurance covers only certain types of water damage and won’t cover flooding.

Find Your Next Homeowners Policy

Compare quotes from top insurers and find savings

Enter your ZIP codeGet My Quotes

Secure. Free. Easy-to-use.

Based on 7,669+ reviews

4.8/5

Zone X flood insurance cost

People with single-family homes who buy a flood insurance policy through the NFIP pay an average of $786 per year for flood insurance. If you live in Zone X, your premiums could be lower, since FEMA considers this zone to be at a lower risk of flooding.

How much you pay for a flood insurance policy depends on whether you buy it from the NFIP or a private insurer, your specific location, and the details of your property. Your choice of coverage limits and deductibles will also affect your flood insurance premium.

Here’s a ballpark comparison of NFIP annual costs in Zone X and Zone A (a higher risk zone) by state. You can see from this data that your flood zone significantly affects the cost of an NFIP policy. For example, in California, property owners in the higher-risk Zone A pay 22% more, on average, for an NFIP policy than owners in Zone X.

State	Zone X	Zone A	% Difference (X vs. A)
Alabama	$804	$998	−19%
Alaska	$375	$459	−18%
Arizona	$795	$850	−7%
Arkansas	$847	$1,072	−21%
California	$819	$1,047	−22%
Colorado	$740	$1,092	−32%
Connecticut	$900	$1,538	−41%
Delaware	$579	$929	−38%
Florida	$628	$1,059	−41%
Georgia	$682	$1,015	−33%
Hawaii	$787	$688	+14%
Idaho	$910	$977	−7%
Illinois	$818	$1,187	−45%
Indiana	$892	$1,211	−36%
Iowa	$959	$1,163	−21%
Kansas	$869	$1,181	−36%
Kentucky	$1,050	$1,524	−45%
Louisiana	$745	$1,007	−35%
Maine	$893	$1,444	−62%
Maryland	$781	$1,125	−44%
Massachusetts	$791	$1,561	−49%
Michigan	$845	$1,016	−20%
Minnesota	$920	$1,079	−17%
Mississippi	$750	$965	−29%
Missouri	$938	$1,272	−36%
Montana	$885	$1,046	−18%
Nebraska	$785	$1,228	−56%
Nevada	$903	$1,017	−13%
New Hampshire	$889	$1,616	−82%
New Jersey	$917	$1,444	−58%
New Mexico	$794	$945	−19%
New York	$939	$1,488	−59%
North Carolina	$601	$980	−63%
North Dakota	$1,026	$1,182	−15%
Ohio	$887	$1,352	−52%
Oklahoma	$832	$1,111	−34%
Oregon	$841	$1,104	−31%
Pennsylvania	$1,037	$1,669	−38%
Rhode Island	$765	$1,193	−36%
South Carolina	$553	$864	−36%
South Dakota	$1,121	$1,185	−5%
Tennessee	$863	$1,407	−39%
Texas	$811	$1,152	−30%
Utah	$621	$741	−16%
Vermont	$946	$2,081	−55%
Virginia	$562	$895	−37%
Washington	$809	$1,095	−26%
Washington, D.C.	$310	$760	−59%
West Virginia	$1,360	$1,810	−25%
Wisconsin	$712	$1,085	−34%
Wyoming	$790	$1,106	−29%

Disclaimer: Insurify-guided AI analysis of NFIP data for policies in force by occupancy type and zone. Note, averages are high-level estimates based on data for all policies in force in a given state, both residential and non-residential, encompassing all dwelling and business types. Data as of Oct. 31, 2025.

Understanding flood risk percentages in Zone X

If your home is in Zone X, it’s important to understand that low flood risk doesn’t mean zero risk of flooding. Time — and climate change — could still bring flooding to your home, and you may still need flood insurance. Zone X can experience flooding from multiple causes, including heavy rains, poor drainage, and even nearby construction projects.

Keep in mind that about one-third of NFIP claims come from flooding outside of high-risk zones. And in the past 20 years, nearly every county in the United States has recorded a flood event.

Properties in Zone X have a 0.2% chance of experiencing a “500-year flood.” But that doesn’t mean your property will flood only once every 500 years. It means your home has a 1-in-500 chance of flooding every year. That risk may seem small, but it can add up the longer you live in your home.

For example, a 0.2% flood risk rises to a 6% chance of experiencing flooding over a 30-year mortgage. And a 1% risk — the risk for Flood Zone A — equates to a 26% chance of at least one major flood during a 30-year span.

Here’s a comparison of flood risks and odds over time for Zones A and X.

Time Period	Zone X	Zone A
1 year	0.2% (1 in 500)	1% (1 in 100)
10 years	2% (1 in 50)	10% (1 in 10)
20 years	4% (1 in 25)	18% (1 in 6)
30 years	6% (1 in 17)	26% (1 in 4)

Base flood elevation (BFE) and Zone X

Base flood elevation refers to how high your home’s lowest floor must be in order to qualify for an NFIP policy. For example, if your home’s flood zone has a BFE of 2 feet, that means FEMA recommends your house’s lowest floor should be at least 2 feet higher than the lowest adjacent grade. BFE is how high floodwaters could rise in your flood zone in any given year.

BFE affects construction and insurance, determining your home’s elevation, NFIP insurability, and insurance costs. During construction, BFE affects building permits and code requirements.

While higher-risk flood zones, like AE and VE, have strict BFE requirements, Zone X has no BFE. Since homes in Zone X have no minimum elevation requirements, it’s possible your house’s lowest level could end up underwater if flooding occurred.

Preferred risk policies for Zone X homeowners

Before FEMA rolled out its updated flood insurance rating system (Rating 2.0), homeowners in Zones B, C, and X — lower-risk zones — could buy a lower-cost Preferred Risk Policy (PRP) through the NFIP. Rating 2.0 launched Oct. 1, 2021, and was fully implemented by April 1, 2023.

The new rating system allowed FEMA to designate property-specific flood risks in non-special hazard areas, so it phased out PRPs.

Save on Home Insurance by Bundling

Get quotes for auto and home or renters insurance bundles

Enter your ZIP codeView My Quotes

Secure. Free. Easy-to-use.

Based on 7,669+ reviews

4.8/5

Other flood zone designations

FEMA has flood zone types with low, moderate, and high risk of flooding. Homes with a high risk of flooding face a much greater chance of flooding. Such areas can face additional hazards, like water-surge hazards from a severe storm or natural disaster.

Here’s a quick guide to the main flood zone designations. Compare flood insurance requirements, risk levels, and details below.^[7]

Flood Zone	Risk Level	Details	Flood Insurance Required?
Zones V and VE	High (SFHA)	High-risk coastal areas with added hazard from storm waves	Yes
Zones A, AE, AH, AO, AR, and A99	High (SFHA)	Risk stems from to proximity to a pond, stream, river, or protective barrier under construction	Yes
Zone B and X (shaded)	Moderate	May have decreased risk through flood mitigation efforts, but can experience shallow flooding	No, but recommended
Zone C and X (unshaded)	Low	Lower risk of flooding but still some risk	No, but recommended

Flood zone comparison: Is Zone A or Zone X worse?

Flood Zone A has higher flood risks than Zone X — 1% versus 0.2%. Anyone with a federally backed mortgage in Zone A will have to buy flood insurance.

Flood risk can affect a home’s resalability and resale value, especially if the house has had a flood damage claim.

Zone A’s flood risk is worse than Zone X’s, but it’s important to remember that flooding can — and does — happen anywhere. Even with Zone X’s comparatively low flood risk, homes in these zones can still experience flash and runoff flooding.

How to challenge your flood zone

Flood maps aren’t perfect — limitations in source maps and elevation changes due to construction can affect your home’s flood risks. If you think your home’s Rating 2.0 is inaccurate, you can ask FEMA to change your flood insurance rate map.

Anyone who owns, rents, or leases property can challenge their property’s flood zone through either a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or a Letter of Map Revision-Based on Fill (LOMR-F). You can submit applications for either online through FEMA’s website. FEMA does LOMA requests for free but charges a fee to review and process a LOMR-F request.

You’ll likely need to hire a professional engineer or land surveyor to prepare an Elevation Certificate for your challenge. And your property will need to meet FEMA requirements, like submitting elevation information and proving your home meets or exceeds BFE for your zone.

Generally, FEMA will make a determination within 60 days of receiving a complete application. If your application is missing information, though, it could take longer to get a decision.

Do you need coverage from the National Flood Insurance Program?

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is a federal program that helps provide affordable flood insurance for property owners. It also helps with environmental planning so communities can develop and maintain floodplain management regulations. You must live in an NFIP community in order to purchase flood insurance through the program, which sells coverage through a network of private insurance partners.

If you live in a high-risk SFHA, you have to purchase flood insurance. Even if you live in an area with a low or moderate risk of flooding, purchasing flood insurance through a private insurer or the NFIP is a good idea.

NFIP vs. private flood insurance for Zone X

If your home has a Zone X designation, you won’t have to buy flood insurance. But it’s still a good idea, since flooding can occur anywhere and cause costly damage.

You can buy an NFIP policy for flood coverage as long as your community participates in the program. But keep in mind, coverage limits are relatively low. NFIP policies can cover up to $250,000 of flood damage to your home’s structure and up to $100,000 for your home’s contents.

Private flood insurance policies can have higher coverage limits but typically also cost more than NFIP coverage. In fact, if the federal government terminated the NFIP, the average annual cost of coverage (purchased through private flood insurers) would rise by $600, according to an Insurify data analysis.

More than 127 companies offer private flood insurance, according to data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Among them are:

• Berkshire Hathaway

• Assurant

• Liberty Mutual

• Chubb

• Allstate

• Progressive

• Auto Owners

• Florida Peninsula

• American Family

Flood Zone X FAQs