These States Have the Cheapest Home Insurance Premiums (2020)

Keeping your home safe and sound comes at a price. But in some states, you may luck out with the cost of your home insurance premium.

Finding that ideal home is more than just buying the perfect house. Many homeowners who want to protect their personal property from calamities such as theft or damage from weather-related events know how important it is to find quality home insurance. However, insuring one’s home does not always come cheap. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, homeowners insurance rates rose by 1.6% between 2016 and 2017, reflecting an upward trend in home insurance costs. Despite this upward trend, there are some states that have managed to keep their premium costs relatively cheap.

Insurance companies determine your homeowners insurance policy using a multitude of variables. Determining the liability of a house based on its occupants and its environment means that home insurance rates can vary according to typical weather conditions in the region, the likelihood of theft, or other property damages such as vandalism. To dive deeper into the analysis of homeowners insurance rates and geographical demographics, the data science team at Insurify studied homeowner’s insurance data to identify the ten states with the cheapest home insurance rates.

Insights

• National averages. The average nationwide annual homeowners insurance premium is $1,211. Across the United States, the average median home value is $265,712.90. The mean share of white residents is 75.83% . The average number of burglaries is 38.09 per population of 10,000.

• High prices for southern living. The states with the highest average homeowner’s insurance premiums are concentrated in the South. Louisiana ( $1,968 ), Florida ( $1,951 ), and Texas ( $1,893 ) have insurance premiums well above the national average. These states also have histories of particularly devastating natural disasters. Hurricanes Katrina, Irma, and Ike are merely a few of the many that have hit these southern states in the past two decades. The liability of property and water damage due to these environmental circumstances could be a factor driving up dwelling coverage and home insurance premiums in these states, not to mention the additional flood insurance that the typical homeowners insurance cover does not include.

• Home value and burglary rates are significantly correlated. The number of burglaries per 10,000 residents has a significant negative relationship with median home value, meaning that as the state’s median home value increases, the number of burglaries on average decreases. This may seem counterintuitive, as higher home values may indicate affluence and therefore have more pricey valuables. However, according to the Department of Justice, the highest volume of burglaries occur in the lowest-income homes (of households making $7,500 or less annually) and recedes as income level rises, which corroborates this significant correlation.

Methodology

The data science and research team at Insurify, a site to compare homeowners insurance, studied homeowners’ data from the Insurance Information Institute to determine the states with the cheapest home insurance. HO-3 homeowner package policy data (for owner-occupied dwellings with one to four-family units) released by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) served as the basis for measuring average home insurance policy costs by state.

States’ median home values were determined by the most recent Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) measurement, a smoothed, seasonally adjusted measure of the typical home value and market changes across a given region and housing type. Burglary rates were extracted from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program’s estimated data at the state and national levels derived from their Summary Reporting System (SRS).

States with the Cheapest Home Insurance

10. Maine

• Average annual homeowners insurance premium: $882

• Median home value: $255,358

• Number of burglaries (2018): 20.27 per 10,000

Bring in the dancing lobsters, because Maine has some of the least expensive home insurance premiums in the country. Both the average annual homeowner’s premium and median home value are below the national average, at 28 and 4 percent respectively. Maine also has a low volume of burglaries per capita, with a theft rate that’s 47 percent below average. While Maine does not follow the overall national trend of low median home value being correlated with low burglary rates, the relatively minimal number of home burglaries in Maine could be attributed to its majority-rural population — according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Maine has the highest proportion of rural areas of all fifty states, whereas burglaries may happen more often in more dense, crowded areas.

9. Ohio

• Average annual homeowners insurance premium: $862

• Median home value: $157,496

• Number of burglaries (2018): 41.22 per 10,000

Ohio is ninth in the nation for most affordable home insurance premiums. With a mean rate of $862, home insurance in Ohio costs 29 percent less than the average premium nationwide., Additionally, following the overall trend of home value and burglary rate being negatively correlated, Ohio’s median home value is 59 percent lower than average, while its burglary rate is 8 percent higher than average. Luckily, homeowners in Ohio are able to protect their assets and insure their homes at a comparatively low rate.

8. Washington

• Average annual homeowners insurance premium: $854

• Median home value: $434,168

• Number of burglaries (2018): 53.35 per 10,000

Washingtonians looking to insure their home are in luck — the average home insurance premium in their state is 30 percent below what the average American is paying. The median home value in Washington is the fifth-highest in the nation at notably 39 percent above the national average, meaning that you need a whole lotta green to buy a home in the Evergreen State. Given that Washington has a surprisingly high burglary rate (29 percent above average) in relation to its high median home value, homeowners who have secured their humble abode can take a sigh of relief knowing that their cost of homeowners insurance is comparatively cheap.

7. Delaware

• Average annual homeowners insurance premium: $833

• Median home value: $267,772

• Number of burglaries (2018): 32.65 per 10,000

Despite being the second-smallest state in the United States, Delaware homeowners can stand tall knowing that their state has the seventh cheapest home insurance premiums in the country. Delaware’s homeowners insurance costs are on average 32 percent below the nationwide mean, even with a median home value that is nearly equal to the national average. Delaware’s burglary rate is additionally 15 percent below the national average, making Delaware an all-around stable and safe state to own a home.

6. Arizona

• Average annual homeowners insurance premium: $825

• Median home value: $285,574

• Number of burglaries (2018): 43.97 per 10,000

Arizona is sixth in the ranks for states with the most affordable home insurance premiums. With a slightly higher-than-average median home value and burglary rate, Arizona’s 32 percent below-average home insurance costs are a somewhat surprising asset to Arizona homeowners. While Arizona does not necessarily follow the nationwide trend of states with higher burglary rates corresponding with lower median home values, it seems that Arizona homeowners are in luck in terms of affordably insuring their homes.

5. Wisconsin

• Average annual homeowners insurance premium: $779

• Median home value: $206,470

• Number of burglaries (2018): 24.25 per 10,000

The fifth state on our list, Wisconsin, is a true representation of that famous Midwest hospitality — America’s Dairyland has both comparatively affordable insurance prices and home values. On average, Wisconsin homeowners can insure their homes at 36 percent less than the average American. The median home value in Wisconsin is 23 percent below the nationwide mean, and its burglary rate is additionally lower than average by 37 percent. Owning a home in Wisconsin seems to check all of the boxes, with low home costs, insurance premiums, and likelihood of burglary across the board.

4. Nevada

• Average annual homeowners insurance premium: $755

• Median home value: $310,471

• Number of burglaries (2018): 58.47 per 10,000

Many people come to Nevada each year to win big in Vegas. Luckily, Nevada residents are already winners in the realm of affordable home insurance premiums. Nevada has the fourth-cheapest home insurance costs in the U.S., at 38 percent below the national average. These low premiums interestingly intersect with higher-than-average median home values and burglary rates, at 15 and 35 percent respectively. Nevada is likewise a fascinating case, as these statistics do not follow the pattern of higher burglary rates corresponding to low median home values. The typical homeowners insurance cover in Nevada protects high value for a low rate, making it one of the cheapest states to insure a home.

3. Idaho

• Average annual homeowners insurance premium: $730

• Median home value: $305,390

• Number of burglaries (2018): 28.16 per 10,000

Idaho is not just known as the Gem State for its mountainous terrain and natural beauty — the state’s low homeowner’s insurance premiums, which are the third cheapest in the nation, are certainly special. Homeowners in Idaho can expect to pay home insurance costs at a 40 percent reduction from the national mean. Idaho also experiences a 27 percent below-average burglary rate. Similar to the case of Wisconsin, Idaho homeowners are fortunate to have low home prices, insurance premiums, and worries about in-home theft.

2. Utah

• Average annual homeowners insurance premium: $692

• Median home value: $364,604

• Number of burglaries (2018): 31.53 per 10,000

Upon first glance, Utah homes don’t come cheap. Utah’s median home value is 28 percent above the national average, making it the eighth-highest value in the nation. However, insuring one’s home in Utah is paradoxically affordable. Utah’s average annual homeowner’s insurance premium of $692 is 43 percent below the nationwide mean. Utah’s burglary rate is additionally 18 percent below the national average, conceding with the insight that home value and burglary rate are significantly negatively correlated. This lower rate of burglaries could contribute to reduced insurance premiums across the Beehive State.

1. Oregon

• Average annual homeowners insurance premium: $677

• Median home value: $370,319

• Number of burglaries (2018): 37.91 per 10,000

The state with the lowest home insurance premiums in the country, Oregon, is also a fascinating case. Oregon homeowners on average pay 45 percent less on their insurance premiums than the rest of the country, even though Oregon homes are notably pricey: Oregon has the seventh-highest median home value in the United States, 29 percent higher than the national average. Oregon’s burglary rate is nearly equal to the nationwide mean, not necessarily following the negative significant correlation with its median home value, but also not greatly contradicting it.

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