Research Summary

What is Rating the States

Now in its fourth edition, IBHS’s Rating the States report evaluates the 18 states along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, all vulnerable to catastrophic hurricanes, based on building code adoption, enforcement, and contractor licensing. In the report, published every three years, each state is rated on a 0–100 scale using data from responses to groups of questions related to different aspects of their building code programs. In this edition, the report again includes the US territories of Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands, which were first evaluated in 2018.

The 2021 edition also includes information from the nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) to support consumer awareness and response to local building codes in their area. Inspect2Protect.org offers a free building code look-up tool available to all homeowners.

Full Report

Report Summary

Data Set XLSX (Members Only)

Interactive Ratings Map

Hover over the State on the Map or Rankings List for more information

Rating the States 2021 Total Score

Top (Greater than 90)

Good (80-90)

Average (70-80)

Poor (Less than 70)

2021 Rankings

#1Florida
#2Virginia
#3South Carolina
#4New Jersey
#5Connecticut
#6Rhode Island
#7North Carolina
#8Louisiana
#9Massachusetts
#10Maryland
#11Georgia
#12New York
#13Maine
#14New Hampshire
#15Texas
#16Alabama
#17Mississippi
#18Delaware

Why Rate the States

Damage reduction resulting from the adoption and enforcement of strong building codes helps keep people in their homes and businesses operating following natural or manmade disasters, reduces the need for public and private disaster aid, and preserves the built environment. The IBHS Rating the States report is intended to help provide a roadmap states can follow to improve their system of residential-related building regulations by following best practices.

Additional benefits of strong, uniform, well-enforced statewide codes include:

Giving residents a sense of security about the safety and soundness of their buildings.
Preserving the economic resources of a community and reducing the burden on post-disaster government spending.
Offering protection to first responders during and after disaster events.
Incorporating newly identified best practices and cost efficiencies.
Reducing the amount of solid waste in landfills produced by homes damaged or destroyed during disasters.

* The report is not intended for use in insurance underwriting or rating, or for regulatory purposes.

2012 Through 2021 State Scores