Home Insurance in Chico, California
With a median home value of $468,100, Chico is 10% higher than the Butte County median.
Aging wiring, roofing and plumbing in older homes can push up the cost to insure or rebuild them. The typical home in Chico was built around 1983. About 20% of homes were built before 1960, in line with Butte County (21%).
The housing stock in Chico is 54% single-family homes, 25% apartments in buildings with 5+ units and 4% mobile or manufactured homes. The rest are 2-4 unit or other housing types. Mobile and manufactured homes typically need a manufactured-home (HO-7) policy rather than a standard homeowners policy.
In Chico, about 64% of owner-occupied homes have a mortgage - lenders require hazard insurance on every mortgaged home.
About 43% of occupied homes in Chico are owner-occupied. The vacancy rate is 8%; vacant or unoccupied homes typically need a different coverage form than an owner-occupied policy.
In Chico, 54% of homes are primarily heated with natural gas.
Butte County's top FEMA-rated hazard is wildfire (Relatively High), per FEMA's National Risk Index. Butte County had 1,529 active NFIP flood policies as of September 2026. See the full Butte County home insurance overview for all FEMA hazard ratings and flood coverage details.
According to the NAIC homeowners insurance report (2023 data), a standard HO-3 homeowners policy in California carries a statewide average premium of $1,655 per year.
Key figures
| Median home value | $468,100 |
|---|---|
| Median year built | 1983 |
| Owner-occupied share | 43% |
| Share of owner-occupied homes with a mortgage | 64% |
| Top county hazard | Wildfire (Relatively High) |
| Active NFIP policies in Butte County | 1,529 |
| Home insurance premium | $1,655 - statewide average (NAIC, 2023 data) |
Nearby towns
Sources
Data last updated: 2026-09-29
- U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer Files (2024)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates (2024)
- FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025)
- FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Policies v3 (2026)
- NAIC Dwelling Fire, Homeowners Owner-Occupied, and Homeowners Tenant and Condominium/Cooperative Unit Owners Insurance: Data for 2023 (published 2026) (2023)