The 2026 hurricane season is predicted by the NOAA National Weather Service to most likely see below-normal hurricane activity. Just a couple years ago, the 2024 hurricane season was the third most costly hurricane season since 1980, with 5 major hurricanes causing $123.96 billion in damage and resulting in 314 deaths in the United States.(1).
An average year sees the US hit with 12 named storms, 9 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes. However, 2026’s decreased warning predicts the US being hit with possibly 8 to 14 named storms, of which 3 to 6 could become hurricanes and 1 to 3 of those having the potential to become major hurricanes. But which state is most at risk — and how much does catastrophic weather cost us?
So far the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season has saw 13 named storms, with hurricanes Erin, Gabrielle, Humberto and Imelda making landfall in the US:
In 2025, the alphabetical list of 2025 Atlantic hurricane names will be as follows:
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season saw 18 named storms, 11 of which were hurricanes and 5 became major hurricanes, with Hurricane Beryl being the first of five hurricanes to hit US soil in July 2024:
The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season has saw 7 hurricanes and 13 named storms, with Hurricane Idalia being the first hurricane to hit US soil in 2023:
States along the Atlantic coast or by the Gulf of Mexico are most vulnerable to hurricanes, with Florida as the most prone to landfall. Since 1851, over 307 hurricanes have made landfall in the United States, affecting 19 states.
Let’s look at the top 10 states for hurricanes.
Florida is ranked as the state with the 1st highest number of hurricanes in the U.S. with 121 hurricanes making landfall in Florida, or 40.20% of all U.S. hurricanes. Of those 121 hurricanes, 38 were major hurricanes at least Category 3, while 48 hurricanes were Category 1 and 36 were Category 2.
Texas is ranked as the state with the 2nd highest number of hurricanes in the U.S. with 64 hurricanes making landfall in Texas, or 21.26% of all U.S. hurricanes. Of those 64 hurricanes, 19 were major hurricanes at least Category 3, while 30 hurricanes were Category 1 and 16 were Category 2.
Louisiana is ranked as the state with the 2nd highest number of hurricanes in the U.S. with 64 hurricanes making landfall in Louisiana, or 21.26% of all U.S. hurricanes. Of those 64 hurricanes, 19 were major hurricanes at least Category 3, while 24 hurricanes were Category 1 and 21 were Category 2.
North Carolina is ranked as the state with the 4th highest number of hurricanes in the U.S. with 58 hurricanes making landfall in North Carolina, or 19.27% of all U.S. hurricanes. Of those 58 hurricanes, 7 were major hurricanes at least Category 3, while 32 hurricanes were Category 1 and 19 were Category 2.
South Carolina is ranked as the state with the 5th highest number of hurricanes in the U.S. with 32 hurricanes making landfall in South Carolina, or 10.63% of all U.S. hurricanes. Of those 32 hurricanes, 5 were major hurricanes at least Category 3, while 18 hurricanes were Category 1 and 9 were Category 2.
Alabama is ranked as the state with the 6th highest number of hurricanes in the U.S. with 23 hurricanes making landfall in Alabama, or 7.64% of all U.S. hurricanes. Of those 23 hurricanes, 5 were major hurricanes at least Category 3, while 12 hurricanes were Category 1 and 6 were Category 2.
Georgia is ranked as the state with the 7th highest number of hurricanes in the U.S. with 21 hurricanes making landfall in Georgia, or 6.98% of all U.S. hurricanes. Of those 21 hurricanes, 3 were major hurricanes at least Category 3, while 14 hurricanes were Category 1 and 4 were Category 2.
New York is ranked as the state with the 8th highest number of hurricanes in the U.S. with 15 hurricanes making landfall in New York, or 4.98% of all U.S. hurricanes. Of those 15 hurricanes, 3 were major hurricanes at least Category 3, while 9 hurricanes were Category 1 and 3 were Category 2.
Mississippi is ranked as the state with the 9th highest number of hurricanes in the U.S. with 14 hurricanes making landfall in Mississippi, or 4.65% of all U.S. hurricanes. Of those 14 hurricanes, 6 were major hurricanes at least Category 3, while 3 hurricanes were Category 1 and 5 were Category 2.
Virginia is ranked as the state with the 10th highest number of hurricanes in the U.S. with 13 hurricanes making landfall in Virginia, or 4.32% of all U.S. hurricanes. Of those 13 hurricanes, 0 were major hurricanes at least Category 3, while 11 hurricanes were Category 1 and 2 were Category 2.
While Mississippi only accounts for 6.4% of all hurricanes to have hit the United States, when these storm systems make landfall in Mississippi, they tend to be very strong. Over two-fifths (42%) of all Mississippi hurricanes are major.
In the United States, the hurricane season runs from the beginning of June through the end of November. In fact, the US has never been hit by a hurricane outside those months.
September sees the most hurricanes, with about 43% of all hurricanes occurring in that month. August has the next highest frequency of hurricanes at roughly 30%, followed by October at 19%.
The cost of hurricanes is on the rise, both financially and in terms of lives. Two of America’s top 10 costliest hurricanes in the last 5 years, while 9 of the top 10 costliest hurricanes happened in the last 20 years.
Hurricane Katrina in 2005 devastated the US and was by far the most expensive hurricane in the country, causing $201.3 billion (adjusted for inflation) in damage and seeing 1,833 Americans lose their lives. While Katrina was the most expensive in terms of dollars, the costliest hurricane in regards to lives lost was Hurricane Maria in 2017, which saw 2,981 Americans perish.
However, while 2005’s Katrina was the most costly single event in the last 40 years, 2017 was the costliest year, with costs totaling $339.2 billion in 2024 dollars.
If you live in a hurricane-prone state, homeowners insurance will typically cover damage from storms. Policies generally cover damage from lightning, hail, strong winds and other storms. You will need a separate policy to protect yourself from flood damage.
However, just 62% of those living in the 10 most hurricane affected states told finder that they currently have home or renters insurance, as part of Finder’s Consumer Confidence Index survey. By comparison, 69% of those surveyed in states that have never experienced a hurricane said they have home or renters insurance.
The data for the number of hurricanes to make landfall by state was sourced from the Hurricane direct hits on the mainland US coastline and for individual states by Saffir/Simpson category, 1851-2022 data by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). However, this page has not been updated since the end of 2022, which is why there is disparity in the numbers as Finder added in the hurricanes that made landfall in 2023 and 2024.
The frequency of hurricanes was calculated using the Continental United States Hurricane Impacts/Landfalls data by NOAA.
The costliest hurricane data was sourced from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) US Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, looking at tropical cyclones from 1980 to 2022.
Richard Laycock, Insights editor and senior content marketing manager
