How much is homeowners insurance?
Why one source says $1,737 a year and another $2,772: what each average measures, monthly figures by coverage amount, and which number fits your house.
3 minutes of reading | Statutes and tables to be re-checked by 2026-11-20
Search for the average cost of homeowners insurance and you'll find figures that disagree by more than a thousand dollars. They aren't all wrong; they answer different questions. Once you know which question each one answers, you can pick the number that fits your house.
Three national averages, side by side
| Figure | What the average counts | Year | House assumed |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,737 a year | Premiums actually paid on HO-3 policies, divided by insured homes (NAIC Homeowners Report, July 2026) | 2023 | Every insured owner-occupied home, whatever its size |
| $2,490 a year | Average of quotes from more than 100 insurers for one sample profile (NerdWallet, updated May 6, 2026) | 2026 | $400,000 dwelling, $300,000 liability, $1,000 deductible, built 1984, good credit |
| $2,772 a year | Average of insurers' rates for one profile (Insurify, updated November 1, 2026) | 2026 | $300,000 dwelling, $25,000 personal property, $300,000 liability, $1,000 deductible, built 1980, no claims, good credit |
Both survey pages are linked from our sources; we read them again on November 6, 2026.
The regulator figure is lower partly because it is three years older and partly because it averages real policies, including smaller and newer homes, multi-policy discounts and long-standing customers. The survey figures are prices quoted today to a new customer for a fixed sample home. Neither is "the" answer for you.
What it costs by the amount of coverage
The regulator's own table shows the same pattern on real policies: in 2023 the countrywide HO-3 average was $1,282 for homes insured for $200,000 to $224,999, $1,475 at $300,000 to $324,999, $1,679 at $400,000 to $449,999 and $1,973 at $500,000 to $599,999 (NAIC, Table 4).
Both quote surveys below publish averages for different dwelling limits, and in their figures doubling coverage adds roughly 70%, not 100%. The NAIC table, which records what policies actually cost, shows a gentler climb: about 31% from the $200,000 band to the $400,000 band ($1,282 to $1,679).
| Dwelling coverage | NerdWallet, a year | per month | Insurify, a year | per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200,000 | $1,480 | $123 | $2,016 | $168 |
| $300,000 | $1,975 | $165 | $2,772 | $231 |
| $400,000 | $2,490 | $208 | $3,504 | $292 |
| $500,000 | $3,005 | $250 | $4,260 | $355 |
Insurify's monthly figures are its yearly ones divided by 12 by us; NerdWallet publishes its own. Insurify also lists $6,096 at $750,000, and NerdWallet $4,445 at $800,000.
Monthly or yearly?
Most homeowners never see a monthly bill. If you have a mortgage, the lender usually collects one-twelfth of the premium with each payment and pays the insurer from an escrow account once a year. Without a mortgage, insurers offer annual, semi-annual or monthly payment plans; installment plans often carry a small fee per payment. To compare quotes, always convert to the annual premium.
A worked example: which figure fits?
Take a 1,900 sq ft brick house in Indiana with a rebuild cost of $280,000 and a $1,000 deductible.
- Regulator starting point: Indiana's 2023 HO-3 average was $1,259.
- Bring it forward: with the estimator's step to today's prices, $1,574.
- Adjust for the house: the NAIC's countrywide average for homes insured for $275,000 to $299,999 was $1,414, which is 0.814 of the overall $1,737; $1,574 × 0.814 = $1,280.
The national survey figures ($2,490 or $2,772) would overstate this home's price by a thousand dollars, because Indiana is a below-average state and the house is smaller than the sample. That's the gap the estimator closes.
Why the regulator figure is the older one
The NAIC publishes its averages about two and a half years after the year they describe, so in late 2026 its newest year is 2023. The year-by-year series, with what drove the jumps after 2020, is on the premium history page; this page only needs one point from it: a 2023 figure is a floor for today's price, not a quote.
What to do with this
- Start from your state, not the national figure. The state map shows a spread of more than three to one.
- Use the rebuild cost, not the price you paid or the Zillow estimate. The coverage page shows how to find it.
- When a quote seems high or low, put it in the estimator's quote box and read what it says about that position.
A figure out of date? Tell us. Flag an outdated figure