Flood Help Guide

Illinois flood insurance and flood history

From FEMA's flood insurance and disaster data · Updated 2026-10-08

52,890NFIP flood claims since 1978
$596.0 millionPaid on those claims
$25,505Average paid claimlast 10 years
0.5%Homes with NFIP flood insurance
17Flood disaster declarationssince 2000

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 52,890 flood insurance claims in Illinois since 1978. The NFIP paid $596.0 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 2008, with 5,357, mostly from Hurricane Ike.

In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 4,487 claims, and the average paid claim was $25,505.

24% 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 Illinois had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (21,080 of 3,952,182 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 25% (14,390 of 57,540).

Since 2000, FEMA has made 17 flood-related disaster declarations covering parts of Illinois. The most recent was DR-4819-IL (Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng), declared September 20, 2024.

Flood insurance claims in Illinois by year

NFIP flood claims per year in Illinois, 1978 to 202602.5k5k7.5k10k1978: 649 claims, $1.3 million paid1979: 3,704 claims, $15.8 million paid1980: 396 claims, $740,239 paid19801981: 1,397 claims, $4.2 million paid1982: 4,101 claims, $15.0 million paid1983: 1,866 claims, $5.8 million paid1984: 328 claims, $1.0 million paid1985: 1,908 claims, $8.3 million paid1986: 1,217 claims, $8.1 million paid1987: 1,684 claims, $15.5 million paid1988: 97 claims, $247,828 paid1989: 213 claims, $575,511 paid1990: 723 claims, $2.8 million paid19901991: 158 claims, $520,910 paid1992: 56 claims, $79,377 paid1993: 4,083 claims, $67.4 million paid1994: 441 claims, $2.9 million paid1995: 726 claims, $4.5 million paid1996: 2,621 claims, $23.7 million paid1997: 1,329 claims, $7.6 million paid1998: 295 claims, $958,041 paid1999: 337 claims, $1.5 million paid2000: 343 claims, $1.8 million paid20002001: 894 claims, $7.9 million paid2002: 739 claims, $5.6 million paid2003: 314 claims, $938,426 paid2004: 257 claims, $2.4 million paid2005: 199 claims, $1.2 million paid2006: 634 claims, $6.7 million paid2007: 1,094 claims, $13.9 million paid2008: 5,357 claims, $110.9 million paid2009: 582 claims, $5.8 million paid2010: 2,100 claims, $28.3 million paid20102011: 1,210 claims, $17.7 million paid2012: 74 claims, $369,368 paid2013: 4,402 claims, $96.1 million paid2014: 668 claims, $6.0 million paid2015: 992 claims, $12.3 million paid2016: 215 claims, $1.9 million paid2017: 988 claims, $19.1 million paid2018: 628 claims, $15.5 million paid2019: 1,051 claims, $25.3 million paid2020: 633 claims, $10.2 million paid20202021: 135 claims, $1.4 million paid2022: 184 claims, $3.1 million paid2023: 213 claims, $2.4 million paid2024: 278 claims, $5.1 million paid2025: 96 claims, $1.5 million paid2026: 281 claims, $3.7 million paid
NFIP claims per year by year of loss. Hover or tap a bar for the count and amount paid. 2026 is partial.
Show as a table
YearClaimsPaid
2026281$3.7 million
202596$1.5 million
2024278$5.1 million
2023213$2.4 million
2022184$3.1 million
2021135$1.4 million
2020633$10.2 million
20191,051$25.3 million
2018628$15.5 million
2017988$19.1 million
2016215$1.9 million
2015992$12.3 million
2014668$6.0 million
20134,402$96.1 million
201274$369,368
20111,210$17.7 million
20102,100$28.3 million
2009582$5.8 million
20085,357$110.9 million
20071,094$13.9 million
2006634$6.7 million
2005199$1.2 million
2004257$2.4 million
2003314$938,426
2002739$5.6 million
2001894$7.9 million
2000343$1.8 million
1999337$1.5 million
1998295$958,041
19971,329$7.6 million
19962,621$23.7 million
1995726$4.5 million
1994441$2.9 million
19934,083$67.4 million
199256$79,377
1991158$520,910
1990723$2.8 million
1989213$575,511
198897$247,828
19871,684$15.5 million
19861,217$8.1 million
19851,908$8.3 million
1984328$1.0 million
19831,866$5.8 million
19824,101$15.0 million
19811,397$4.2 million
1980396$740,239
19793,704$15.8 million
1978649$1.3 million

Biggest flood events by NFIP payments

The flood events FEMA's claims data names most often for Illinois, ranked by what the NFIP paid. FEMA names events in its claims records; claims without an event name aren't included here.

EventYearClaimsPaid
Mid-spring storms20133,921$90.4 million
Midwest Flooding19932,892$60.5 million
Hurricane Ike20082,799$54.7 million
Flooding19961,737$18.6 million
Flooding19871,576$15.4 million
Flooding19821,852$7.8 million
Flooding19861,026$7.7 million
Flooding19851,586$7.5 million
Mid-spring storms2011330$5.9 million
Flooding1997867$5.3 million

Flood history by county

Every Illinois county in FEMA's data, sorted by number of NFIP claims since 1978. "Insured" is the share of homes with an NFIP policy.

CountyClaimsPaidInsuredFlood declarations
Cook County15,260$139.8 million0.5%7
DuPage County3,607$55.6 million0.6%3
Peoria County2,547$23.6 million0.4%2
Lake County2,456$28.7 million0.8%3
Will County2,295$21.1 million0.5%4
Rock Island County2,132$20.2 million1.3%4
Jersey County1,869$24.4 million0.9%3
Winnebago County1,729$27.3 million0.6%5
Calhoun County1,690$16.8 million3.1%6
St. Clair County1,469$7.8 million1.0%5
Madison County1,087$8.0 million0.8%3
McHenry County987$7.6 million0.7%1
Kane County929$11.6 million0.4%3
Iroquois County840$16.9 million2.0%2
Kankakee County695$10.2 million0.8%0
Monroe County689$22.7 million1.0%5
LaSalle County680$12.7 million0.5%3
Woodford County518$5.1 million0.6%3
Mason County452$3.4 million0.6%3
Alexander County444$3.2 million3.4%4
Henderson County412$11.5 million2.1%4
DeKalb County404$4.6 million0.5%3
Adams County374$13.7 million0.3%7
Fulton County369$2.8 million0.2%5
Tazewell County345$1.9 million0.2%2
Jo Daviess County343$3.9 million0.3%2
Pike County335$7.2 million1.2%8
Grundy County333$6.4 million0.8%3
Ogle County308$3.5 million0.7%2
Sangamon County293$3.7 million0.2%2
Hancock County288$5.9 million0.7%7
Whiteside County287$2.3 million0.7%4
Livingston County282$2.0 million1.2%2
Morgan County242$1.6 million0.6%4
Williamson County239$2.1 million0.5%3
Henry County238$1.7 million0.4%3
Champaign County235$2.1 million0.3%1
Douglas County209$1.2 million1.2%4
Macon County208$1.4 million0.2%2
Stephenson County193$3.6 million0.3%3
McLean County188$1.7 million0.2%0
Randolph County182$2.7 million1.2%5
Kendall County175$3.1 million0.2%2
Cass County167$979,5902.5%4
Lee County142$730,4500.6%1
Jackson County118$2.1 million0.6%4
Massac County110$2.4 million2.1%3
Union County109$443,1190.9%5
Vermilion County103$2.2 million0.2%2
Schuyler County93$326,8300.3%5
White County88$1.5 million0.8%2
Marshall County81$736,5590.4%1
Greene County77$1.5 million0.2%6
Bureau County73$243,9300.4%3
Putnam County66$1.1 million0.3%1
Coles County62$710,4060.3%3
Mercer County61$1.4 million0.2%4
Franklin County60$549,0370.3%3
De Witt County59$377,1370.3%2
Logan County58$113,4280.3%2
Carroll County57$806,5050.1%4
Gallatin County47$869,8200.8%3
Macoupin County47$272,0970.1%2
Boone County46$271,2540.3%0
Knox County40$392,0510.1%3
Menard County35$162,3710.2%1
Brown County32$438,4940.2%3
Pulaski County32$168,2611.3%3
Clinton County29$645,8730.2%1
Marion County29$548,3410.1%2
Scott County29$131,8010.7%6
Saline County28$486,7520.8%3
Crawford County26$537,7010.2%3
Warren County26$193,2530.4%3
Richland County25$198,5250.1%1
Lawrence County23$272,2580.2%4
Montgomery County22$288,0540.0%2
Moultrie County20$120,6620.6%3
Piatt County19$363,7560.4%1
Clark County18$208,5310.1%4
Hardin County16$209,9040.2%2
McDonough County16$132,9830.1%4
Christian County14$197,7440.1%2
Jefferson County13$261,5230.2%2
Wayne County12$71,3800.2%2
Perry County11$64,5820.1%2
Jasper County10$160,9510.1%2
Wabash County10$30,3780.2%2
Washington County8$174,3060.1%4
Bond County6$282,1750.1%1
Edgar County5$41,9210.1%3
Hamilton County5$37,4430.0%3
Clay County4$28,5810.1%1
Effingham County4$52,2630.1%1
Fayette County3$4,3230.0%1
Johnson County3$19,8210.1%1
Shelby County3$64,1850.0%2
Cumberland County2$12,6110.0%3
Ford County2$3,5390.1%1
Pope County1$00.0%3
Stark County1$00.2%1
Edwards County0$00.0%1

Flood-related FEMA disaster declarations in Illinois

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.

DeclarationDeclaredEventHelp for individuals
DR-4819-IL Sep 20, 2024 Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng Yes
DR-4749-IL Nov 20, 2023 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-4728-IL Aug 15, 2023 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-4676-IL Oct 14, 2022 Severe Storm and Flooding Yes
DR-4461-IL Sep 19, 2019 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-4116-IL May 10, 2013 Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding Yes
DR-1991-IL Jun 7, 2011 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-1935-IL Aug 19, 2010 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-1850-IL Jul 2, 2009 Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes No
DR-1800-IL Oct 3, 2008 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-1771-IL Jun 24, 2008 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-1747-IL Mar 7, 2008 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-1729-IL Sep 25, 2007 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-1722-IL Aug 30, 2007 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-1469-IL May 15, 2003 Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding Yes
DR-1416-IL May 21, 2002 Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding Yes
DR-1368-IL May 9, 2001 Flooding Yes

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:

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.