The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has renewed Sacramento County as a Class 2 rating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS).
The rating allows residents and businesses in unincorporated Sacramento County to receive a 40% discount on flood insurance for most NFIP policies issued or renewed on or after Oct. 1, 2026.
Through the CRS program, FEMA ranks communities based on a point system for activities implemented to reduce flood risk. This includes promoting mitigation measures to the public, implementing flood warning systems and promoting the purchase of flood insurance. The ranking ranges from 10 (lowest) to 1 (highest).
Nationwide there are two Class 1 CRS communities, and ten CRS Class 2 communities. California has a total of 97 CRS Communities with only one Class 1 community and one Class 2 community, which is Sacramento County.
“In the unincorporated parts of Sacramento County, we have 4,539 properties that purchase their flood insurance coverage through the NFIP,” said Matt Satow, Department of Water Resources Director. “The Class 2 rating we have achieved and corresponding 40% discount will save our residents over $500,000 in 2026 on their flood insurance policies and on average, $121 per policy.”
When Sacramento County joined the program in 1992, FEMA initially gave the County a Class 9 rating. Over the years, Sacramento County’s Department of Water Resources has steadily worked to improve its rating by meeting the criteria set by FEMA to protect unincorporated Sacramento County. The first Class 2 was awarded in 2017. The renewal of the Class 2 rating comes as the County embarks on its update of the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP).
The LHMP is updated every 5 years to address the list of hazards and assessed risks that make the area vulnerable. The updated plan will help improve the resilience of Sacramento County to weather future disasters.
The LHMP allows agencies to apply for pre- and post-disaster mitigation grant funding and lessen the cost of flood insurance to the residents of Sacramento County, and the surrounding cities through FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program.
You can learn more about the Sacramento County’s Local Hazard Mitigation Plan at www.stormready.org and the County’s Class 2 status on the FEMA CRS visualization website.