Property Insurance Makes Up 7% of Housing Costs in Big Metros, ValuePenguin Reports

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Homeowners in the 50 largest U.S. metros now spend an average of 7% of their monthly housing costs insuring their homes, according to the latest ValuePenguin by LendingTree study.

That means around $146 of the typical $2,077.58 monthly housing bill is dedicated to property insurance, the report said.

“Severe weather and inflation have made homeowners insurance less affordable at a time when families need it more than ever to protect their biggest investment,” ValuePenguin home insurance expert Rob Bhatt said. “This is putting strains on household budgets in many parts of the country.”

Miami topped the list for high costs: 13.1% of monthly housing costs go toward property insurance there, ValuePenguin reported. Oklahoma City (13.0%) and Tampa (11.6%) follow close behind.

At the other end of the spectrum, San Jose, Calif. homeowners spend just 3.5% of their monthly housing cost to insure their homes. San Francisco (4.3%) and Los Angeles (4.6%) homeowners follow.

The report noted high insurance costs may explain why Miami has the most uninsured homes (20.8%), followed by Tampa (18.1%) and Birmingham, Ala. (17.3%).

At 8.3%, Portland, Ore. has the lowest rate of uninsured homes. Denver was next at 8.9%, while Seattle and Chicago tied for third at 9.4%.