Guides
How much does homeowners insurance cost?
The NAIC's latest data (2023) puts the average HO-3 premium at $1,737, but states range from $923 to $3,027. What the averages mean and how to size up a quote.
The most recent national figure comes from the NAIC: an average annual premium of $1,737 for an HO-3 policy in 2023, published in July 2026. That number is a blend of very different markets, though. The same NAIC table puts Wisconsin at $923 and Louisiana at $3,027, so the average tells you far less about your bill than your state, your home's rebuilding cost and the coverage you choose.
The national averages
The NAIC publishes an annual statistical report on dwelling fire and homeowners policies. The edition released in July 2026 covers data year 2023, which is how long the lag runs: figures reach the public two and a half years after the policies were written. The averages below come from that report's countrywide rows. Each one is total premium divided by the number of house-years of coverage.
| Policy form | Average annual premium, 2023 |
|---|---|
| HO-3 (the standard owner-occupied form; 79.5% of owner-occupied exposure) | $1,737 |
| HO-5 (broader contents coverage) | $1,891 |
| HO-2 (named perils) | $1,572 |
| Dwelling fire (DP forms) | $1,019 |
| HO-6 (condo unit owners) | $658 |
| HO-4 (renters) | $173 |
Source: NAIC, Dwelling Fire, Homeowners Owner-Occupied, and Homeowners Tenant and Condominium/Cooperative Unit Owner's Insurance Report: Data for 2023, July 2026. Earthquake premiums are excluded, and some FAIR plan and other residual-market data are included.
You will still see $1,569 quoted on other sites. That is the 2022 figure, and the Insurance Information Institute's page still carried it as of October 2026. Based on those two NAIC data points, the HO-3 average rose about 10.7% between 2022 and 2023, which is our arithmetic rather than an NAIC statement.
What the averages hide: the state spread
Location moves the price more than any other single factor, and the NAIC states it plainly in its consumer guidance: "the cost of homeowners coverage depends largely on where you live." The NAIC does not rank states by premium, so the order below is our own sort of its 2023 HO-3 averages.
| Highest HO-3 averages | 2023 | Lowest HO-3 averages | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | $3,027 | Wisconsin | $923 |
| Texas | $2,864 | Oregon | $1,003 |
| Florida | $2,779 | Nevada | $1,013 |
| Colorado | $2,492 | Utah | $1,107 |
| Oklahoma | $2,486 | Michigan | $1,110 |
The top of the list is hurricane, hail and tornado country; the bottom is mostly states with less hurricane exposure. In 2023, Louisiana's average was more than three times Wisconsin's. Our home insurance rules by state tool and the why home insurance costs the most in a handful of states guide go further into why.
A second yardstick, and why not to mix them
In July 2026 the NAIC also released a market-dynamics analysis built on a different data set, its Market Conduct Annual Statement. For 2024, it found 715 companies writing 103,289,334 policies with $165.2 billion in direct premium, an average of $1,600 per policy. By region, the Southeast averaged $1,818, the West $1,600, the Midwest $1,476 and the Northeast $1,396 (NAIC report, data year 2024).
Do not set that $1,600 beside the $1,737 above and conclude premiums fell. The market-dynamics figure covers every homeowners-line form, including renters, condo and mobile home policies, and it excludes New York. Different data, different mix. What the report does show is direction: after adjusting for inflation, average premium per policy rose between 18.3% and 43.3% across NAIC regions from 2018 to 2024, or 2.4% to 5.3% a year (NAIC news release, August 5, 2026).
Why the average is probably below what you will be quoted
Two things push a new quote above the 2023 figure. First, rates kept moving after 2023. AM Best's tracking of approved homeowners rate changes put the average increase at 13.5% in 2024, roughly 8% in 2025 (7.6% or 8.3%, depending on the AM Best report) and 4.3% for the first half of 2026, as reported by Reinsurance News in September 2026. Approved rate changes are not the same as what each household paid, but they point the same way. why homeowners insurance keeps going up covers the causes and what has begun to ease.
Second, the average is across all houses, new and old, cheap and expensive. If your home is large, expensive to rebuild or in a high-catastrophe area, you sit above the middle by design. A quote is built from your dwelling coverage limit, your location and a long list of other rating factors, which what affects your homeowners insurance rate walks through.
How to size up your own quote
A premium by itself says little. Two quotes at different limits are not comparable until you put them on the same footing.
- Pull your declarations page or the quote summary. Write down the premium, the Coverage A (dwelling) limit, the liability limit, and every deductible, including any separate wind, hail or hurricane deductible.
- Divide the annual premium by the dwelling limit in thousands. That gives a rate per $1,000 of dwelling coverage, a rough way to compare quotes at different limits.
- Hold the other terms constant: same form (HO-3 or HO-5), same deductibles, same liability limit, same replacement cost terms for the roof.
- Compare the rate per $1,000, not just the bottom line, and check each dwelling limit against a rebuilding estimate, not your purchase price.
A hypothetical example. Say Quote A is $2,400 on a $400,000 dwelling limit, which is $6.00 per $1,000. Quote B is $2,200 on a $350,000 limit, which is $6.29 per $1,000. Quote B looks $200 cheaper, but it costs more per unit of coverage, and if the house would cost $400,000 to rebuild, it leaves a $50,000 gap. The rate per $1,000 is a comparison aid, not a benchmark. It differs widely by state, and it says nothing about whether a limit is right for your house.
The homeowners quote comparison worksheet lays this out, and how to compare homeowners insurance quotes covers deductibles, endorsements and roof terms that hide behind similar-looking totals.
Where the price is not the real problem
If a quote is several times the average, check why. An old roof, an unusual construction type or a claims record can each lift a premium, and some of those are fixable. When the issue is location, such as a coastal ZIP code or a wildfire zone, shopping harder helps less than it would elsewhere. In that case look at ways to lower your homeowners insurance without gutting coverage before cutting coverage, If insurers are declining your home altogether, the FAIR plan and surplus lines routes are covered in finding coverage for a hard-to-insure home.
Key takeaways
- The NAIC's latest figure is an average HO-3 premium of $1,737 for data year 2023, published July 2026; renters average $173 and condo owners $658.
- State differences dominate: in 2023 the HO-3 average was $923 in Wisconsin and $3,027 in Louisiana.
- Do not compare the NAIC's two data sets directly; the $1,600-per-policy figure covers all forms and excludes New York.
- Rates have risen since 2023, so a new quote for a typical home is likely to be above the 2023 average.
- Compare quotes by the rate per $1,000 of dwelling coverage, with deductibles and form held constant, rather than by the total alone.