Idaho flood insurance and flood history
From FEMA's flood insurance and disaster data · Updated 2026-10-08
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 1,116 flood insurance claims in Idaho since 1978. The NFIP paid $10.4 million on them (building, contents and Increased Cost of Compliance payments, in the dollars of the year paid).
The year with the most claims was 2017, with 237.
In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 359 claims, and the average paid claim was $18,759.
40% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).
About 0.5% of homes in Idaho had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (3,768 of 691,150 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 19% (2,641 of 13,801).
Since 2000, FEMA has made 12 flood-related disaster declarations covering parts of Idaho. The most recent was DR-4917-ID (Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides), declared June 30, 2026.
Flood insurance claims in Idaho by year
Show as a table
| Year | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 11 | $138,059 |
| 2025 | 6 | $44,752 |
| 2024 | 5 | $6,788 |
| 2023 | 31 | $435,951 |
| 2022 | 6 | $11,096 |
| 2021 | 4 | $2,913 |
| 2020 | 5 | $7,617 |
| 2019 | 35 | $424,586 |
| 2018 | 19 | $302,802 |
| 2017 | 237 | $3.4 million |
| 2016 | 5 | $17,566 |
| 2015 | 15 | $29,333 |
| 2014 | 18 | $31,610 |
| 2013 | 11 | $28,466 |
| 2012 | 19 | $25,524 |
| 2011 | 28 | $237,566 |
| 2010 | 17 | $240,610 |
| 2009 | 26 | $135,971 |
| 2008 | 28 | $153,642 |
| 2007 | 4 | $0 |
| 2006 | 62 | $496,887 |
| 2005 | 13 | $86,667 |
| 2004 | 6 | $4,608 |
| 2003 | 2 | $19,487 |
| 2002 | 16 | $116,677 |
| 2001 | 2 | $3,430 |
| 2000 | 6 | $1,851 |
| 1999 | 10 | $25,986 |
| 1998 | 12 | $28,490 |
| 1997 | 138 | $1.7 million |
| 1996 | 104 | $1.7 million |
| 1995 | 27 | $73,399 |
| 1993 | 3 | $500 |
| 1992 | 9 | $2,712 |
| 1991 | 1 | $0 |
| 1990 | 9 | $44,752 |
| 1989 | 4 | $2,520 |
| 1987 | 1 | $0 |
| 1986 | 4 | $12,425 |
| 1985 | 4 | $25,566 |
| 1984 | 19 | $81,679 |
| 1983 | 21 | $75,885 |
| 1982 | 41 | $69,682 |
| 1981 | 9 | $289 |
| 1980 | 25 | $88,204 |
| 1979 | 35 | $127,180 |
| 1978 | 3 | $9,327 |
Biggest flood events by NFIP payments
The flood events FEMA's claims data names most often for Idaho, ranked by what the NFIP paid. FEMA names events in its claims records; claims without an event name aren't included here.
| Event | Year | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flooding | 1996 | 88 | $1.7 million |
| Flooding | 1997 | 23 | $879,148 |
| Tropical Storm Hilary | 2023 | 1 | $0 |
Flood history by county
Every Idaho county in FEMA's data, sorted by number of NFIP claims since 1978. "Insured" is the share of homes with an NFIP policy.
| County | Claims | Paid | Insured | Flood declarations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blaine County | 309 | $3.9 million | 2.8% | 1 |
| Ada County | 133 | $498,925 | 0.9% | 1 |
| Shoshone County | 108 | $925,518 | 1.6% | 4 |
| Kootenai County | 91 | $746,386 | 0.3% | 3 |
| Latah County | 61 | $744,053 | 0.9% | 3 |
| Bannock County | 40 | $115,008 | 0.3% | 0 |
| Bonner County | 40 | $156,037 | 0.5% | 3 |
| Benewah County | 34 | $618,103 | 0.9% | 2 |
| Bingham County | 31 | $99,483 | 0.5% | 1 |
| Canyon County | 29 | $101,571 | 0.5% | 1 |
| Payette County | 26 | $246,820 | 0.2% | 1 |
| Lemhi County | 24 | $267,102 | 0.6% | 0 |
| Washington County | 23 | $990,654 | 1.0% | 2 |
| Jefferson County | 18 | $115,665 | 0.3% | 1 |
| Bonneville County | 17 | $39,668 | 0.2% | 0 |
| Twin Falls County | 16 | $24,809 | 0.2% | 1 |
| Elmore County | 11 | $108,025 | 0.8% | 2 |
| Madison County | 9 | $19,923 | 0.2% | 0 |
| Clearwater County | 8 | $36,548 | 0.2% | 3 |
| Fremont County | 7 | $90,130 | 0.2% | 0 |
| Gooding County | 6 | $33,879 | 0.6% | 2 |
| Nez Perce County | 6 | $30,562 | 0.2% | 3 |
| Idaho County | 5 | $9,891 | 0.1% | 5 |
| Lincoln County | 5 | $35,511 | 0.2% | 1 |
| Minidoka County | 5 | $187,291 | 0.1% | 1 |
| Adams County | 4 | $9,388 | 0.3% | 2 |
| Gem County | 4 | $19,220 | 0.3% | 1 |
| Teton County | 4 | $25,465 | 1.0% | 0 |
| Boundary County | 3 | $8,395 | 0.2% | 1 |
| Cassia County | 2 | $63,440 | 0.2% | 1 |
| Boise County | 1 | $35,645 | 0.4% | 0 |
| Caribou County | 1 | $8,023 | 0.1% | 0 |
| Custer County | 1 | $1,902 | 0.4% | 1 |
| Franklin County | 1 | $2,525 | 0.1% | 1 |
| Jerome County | 1 | $0 | 0.0% | 1 |
| Oneida County | 1 | $0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Valley County | 1 | $0 | 0.2% | 3 |
| Bear Lake County | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Butte County | 0 | $0 | 0.4% | 0 |
| Camas County | 0 | $0 | 0.5% | 1 |
| Clark County | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Lewis County | 0 | $0 | 0.9% | 3 |
| Owyhee County | 0 | $0 | 0.1% | 1 |
| Power County | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | 0 |
Flood-related FEMA disaster declarations in Idaho
Declarations since 2000 that FEMA lists as involving flooding. "Help for individuals" means FEMA's Individual Assistance was approved for at least part of the area.
| Declaration | Declared | Event | Help for individuals |
|---|---|---|---|
| DR-4917-ID | Jun 30, 2026 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | No |
| DR-4789-ID | Jun 10, 2024 | Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | No |
| DR-4443-ID | Jun 12, 2019 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | No |
| DR-4342-ID | Oct 7, 2017 | Flooding | No |
| DR-4333-ID | Aug 27, 2017 | Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | No |
| DR-4313-ID | May 18, 2017 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | No |
| DR-4310-ID | Apr 21, 2017 | Severe Winter Storms and Flooding | No |
| DR-1987-ID | May 20, 2011 | Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | No |
| DR-1927-ID | Jul 27, 2010 | Severe Storms and Flooding | No |
| DR-1781-ID | Jul 31, 2008 | Flooding | No |
| DR-1630-ID | Feb 27, 2006 | Severe Storms and Flooding | No |
| DR-1592-ID | Jul 6, 2005 | Heavy Rains and Flooding | No |
What to do with this
A county's history doesn't tell you your own building's risk. To see your property's flood zone, use FEMA's flood map lookup. To weigh coverage, start with do I need flood insurance? and what flood insurance costs.
Where these numbers come from
All figures on this page are calculated from FEMA's public OpenFEMA datasets:
- NFIP Redacted Claims (v3) (FEMA (OpenFEMA)): NFIP claims since 1978, downloaded 2026-10-08. Dollar amounts are what the NFIP paid, not adjusted for inflation. Claims filed under private flood insurance aren't included.
- NFIP Residential Penetration Rates (v1) (FEMA (OpenFEMA)): NFIP residential policy contracts in force (as of August 3, 2026) divided by FEMA's count of residential buildings from the National Structure Inventory. FEMA notes that inventory is incomplete in some counties, which can inflate the rate. Private flood policies aren't counted.
- Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2) (FEMA (OpenFEMA)): disaster declarations, downloaded 2026-10-08. We count a declaration as flood-related when FEMA lists flooding (or a dam or levee break) as its incident type or a designated incident type, or the declaration's title mentions flooding.
FEMA's redacted claims data doesn't identify properties, and FEMA notes that some records lack a county or flood zone. See how we use the data.