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Cape May County, NJ flood insurance claims history

28,016 claims under the National Flood Insurance Program have been filed for flood losses in Cape May County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $414.6M on them. The worst year was 2012 with 10,138 claims. Cape May County ranks #2 of 21 in New Jersey by claim count.

At a glance

  • 1% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 36% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Sandy (2012), which paid $275.2M here.
  • Flood claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years — flooding here is a regular event, not a once-in-a-generation one.
  • More flood claims than 95% of the 21 New Jersey counties with any claims on file — and more than all 2 of its neighbors.
  • ZIP 08226 has the most claims in the county (9,475, 34%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
28,016
1978–2026
Total paid
$414.6M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
81%
22,721 received a payment
Average payout
$18K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
231
claims 2017 – 2026
Most recent loss
2026-06-30
data as of 2026-09-08

Look up your ZIP code

Pick your ZIP code to see how many insured buildings there filed flood claims, in which years, and how much was paid — and which named floods those claims came from, which a county-wide list cannot tell you. Narrow by year or flood zone too. Everything runs in your browser — nothing you pick is sent anywhere. Have a street address? Run the printable flood check for it →

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Flood claims by year

Peak: 10,138 claims in 2012

Claims by year of loss, 1978–2026. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.

Biggest flood events in Cape May County

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Hurricane Sandy10,060$275.2M$27K2012
December Storm - Nor'easter2,517$21.3M$8K1992
Flooding (FEMA general label)2,269$18.9M$8K1992
Flooding (FEMA general label)2,069$7.9M$4K1984
Hurricane Gloria1,750$9.9M$6K1985
Flooding (FEMA general label)1,449$12.3M$8K1998
Winter Storm Jonas1,279$23.2M$18K2016
Flooding (FEMA general label)1,213$8.7M$7K1994
Flooding (FEMA general label)813$1.9M$2K1980
The "Halloween" Storm508$4.0M$8K1991
Hurricane Irene196$1.9M$10K2011
March 2010 Nor'easter72$220K$3K2010

86% of claims here fall under these 12 entries. “FEMA general label” groups many separate floods under one name; the rest of the claims have no event name.

Claims by flood zone

Not sure what the zone letters mean? Flood zones explained →

High-risk A zones: 27,236 (97%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 426 (2%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 288 (1%)Zone not recorded: 66 (0%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)27,236$405.3M$15K
Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30)426$6.4M$15K
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)288$2.6M$9K
Zone not recorded66$287K$4K

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)16,97261%
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt7,81128%
Other causes1,6356%
Stream, river or lake overflow1,2504%
Not recorded2591%
Alluvial fan overflow840%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Cape May County

41 ZIP codes in Cape May County have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Cape May County.

082269,475$189.5M34%482025
082608,818$104.7M31%472025
082432,966$38.3M11%472026
082022,366$28.7M8%412026
082471,539$22.1M5%342021
082041,477$12.2M5%412025
08210421$5.5M2%352026
08248356$7.6M1%262024
Not reported205$1.3M1%212016
08251147$788K1%262024
0821285$510K0%112013
0822336$1.5M0%92024
0827017$78K0%82024
0802413$69K0%82003
0824212$139K0%72021
0825011$223K0%62012
0823011$75K0%72012
082199$16K0%72024
082456$22K0%52011
082345$59K0%42012
088354$821K0%42021
082444$7K0%31992
081063$3K0%31998
080083$136K0%32012
082663$43K0%32012
070813$54K0%32012
080653$35K0%21998
082182$4K0%21985
081072$14K0%21985
070522$1K0%11998
084062$00%11998
082921$31K0%12012
082291$1K0%11992
082401$79K0%12012
078011$7K0%12021
082611$3K0%11998
087531$23K0%11992
082031$1K0%11992
084701$5K0%12012
826001$00%12012
082001$4K0%11992

Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.

When does Cape May County flood?

October accounts for the most flood losses (11,635 claims, 42%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January4,60716%
February1,8467%
March3,63513%
April1160%
May2571%
June940%
July1070%
August3591%
September1,9857%
October11,63542%
November7113%
December2,66410%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
20263$5K
202525$297K
202415$43K
20239$50K
202214$41K
202126$577K
202024$114K
201917$135K
201866$505K
201732$146K
20161,326$23.3M
201543$217K
201421$46K
201338$87K
201210,138$276.3M
2011225$2.1M
2010113$391K
2009624$8.1M
2008192$1.6M
20078$23K
200644$446K
200522$122K
200428$45K
2003134$552K
200230$40K
200112$32K
200088$522K
199931$94K
19981,971$18.6M
199768$544K
1996366$2.5M
199542$301K
19941,332$9.0M
1993121$802K
19924,913$41.2M
1991538$4.1M
199010$14K
198966$336K
19886$0
1987204$1.0M
198645$166K
19851,785$10.0M
19842,087$7.9M
198334$78K
198213$5K
198147$62K
1980834$1.9M
1979154$112K
197832$28K

Neighboring counties

Cape May County borders 2 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Cape May County (this page)28,016$414.6M1%
Atlantic County20,909$493.9M3%
Cumberland County756$12.8M14%

All 21 New Jersey counties → · County and ZIP rankings →

Common questions about flooding in Cape May County

Has Cape May County flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-06-30, and claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years (231 claims from 2017 to 2026). FEMA’s data runs to 2026-09-08, so the newest events may not appear yet.
Do I need flood insurance in a low-risk zone here?
Lenders generally require it only in high-risk A and V zones. But 1% of Cape May County’s claims came from moderate- and low-risk zones. Whether to buy coverage is your call — see flood zones explained and check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
Can I see whether a specific house has flooded?
Not here. FEMA removes addresses before publishing, so these figures describe areas, never a property. Our guide how to check if a house has flooded lists the questions and records that can tell you about a specific home.
Why might the real number of floods be higher?
Only buildings with National Flood Insurance can file these claims, and most homes are not insured for flood. More on what the counts mean in understanding NFIP claims data.

Look up another place

About these numbers

Figures are aggregated from FEMA’s OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims dataset (county FIPS 34009, data as of 2026-09-08). They cover only properties that carried National Flood Insurance — most homes do not, and private flood policies are not included — so real flood damage is larger than these counts show. Dollar amounts are as paid, in nominal dollars. Flood zone is the zone used to rate the policy at the time, which may differ from today’s map. FEMA states this dataset is not an official federal report. Use it for background, not for a purchase, insurance or legal decision; for a specific property ask the seller for its flood disclosure or the owner’s NFIP loss history.

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