New York homes top hurricane exposure list

Cotality said on May 19 that the New York metropolitan area now has the country’s largest concentration of homes exposed to hurricane risk, overtaking better-known markets such as Miami. The property analytics company said more than 3.27 million homes in the New York metro face moderate or greater hurricane wind risk, with nearly $1.93 trillion in reconstruction cost value exposed. The finding came in Cotality’s 2026 Hurricane Risk Report, released less than two weeks before the Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1. The report also said Florida remains the largest state-level concentration of hurricane exposure in the country and that flood risk is extending beyond traditional high-risk zones. ### How did New York end up ahead of Miami? Cotality said the New York metro ranked first nationally for the number of homes at risk from both hurricane wind and storm surge, largely because of the region’s population density and coastal property values. Houston ranked second with 2.17 million at-risk homes and about $824 billion in exposed value, while Miami ranked third with 2.04 million homes and $616 billion in reconstruction cost value. (cotality.com) Maiclaire Bolton-Smith, vice president of insurance market insights at Cotality, said hurricanes strike the Northeast less often than the Gulf Coast, but the financial stakes are high when they do. She said a single event can produce historic losses in the region, making mitigation an important factor for homeowners. ### Does this mean Florida is no longer the center of hurricane risk? (cotality.com) Florida remained the top state for hurricane exposure in Cotality’s report. The company said about 8.25 million Florida homes face moderate or greater risk from hurricane winds, representing more than $2.56 trillion in reconstruction cost value. It also said 2.47 million Florida homes face storm-surge risk, with about $747.6 billion in exposed reconstruction cost value. (cotality.com) Texas ranked second for hurricane wind risk at the state level with 4.76 million homes, followed by North Carolina, according to the report. Cotality described Florida as the “undisputed epicenter” of hurricane risk when measured statewide, even as New York led among metropolitan areas. ### What kind of exposure is Cotality measuring? Cotality said its report tracks homes facing moderate or greater risk from hurricane winds and storm surge across 20 states and Washington, D.C. (cotality.com) Nationally, the company said more than 32.2 million homes are exposed to hurricane wind risk, accounting for more than $12.26 trillion in reconstruction cost value, while more than 6 million homes are exposed to storm surge risk, representing about $2.1 trillion. The report also said nearly 1 million homes face severe flood risk outside mandatory insurance zones, contributing to an estimated $1.73 billion in annual losses. Cotality said that points to underinsurance and to flood exposure that is not fully captured by traditional flood-zone boundaries. ### Where does flood vulnerability fit into this? (cotality.com) New York and New Orleans were highlighted in coverage of the report as among the most flood-vulnerable U.S. cities, alongside the broader warning that rebuilding costs have risen about 30% since 2021. That rebuild-cost figure aligns with Cotality’s wider focus on reconstruction cost value, which it uses to estimate the dollar value of exposed housing stock. (cotality.com) Cotality said traditional maps can miss meaningful risk outside legacy high-risk flood zones. In the report, the company used the example of a Florida homeowner in a FEMA X-zone to illustrate how storm surge and inland flooding can still produce large losses even where federal maps classify risk as moderate to low. ### What happens next? June 1 is the start of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, and Cotality has already published the full 2026 Hurricane Risk Report and a related May 19 press release laying out metro and state rankings. (liveinsurancenews.com) Bolton-Smith said homeowners should treat the pre-season period as the time to assess mitigation and insurance gaps before landfall threats emerge. (cotality.com 1) (cotality.com 2)