Key West, FL

Key West's flood score of 98 and hurricane score of 97 both sit at the 99th national percentile—the statistical ceiling in this dataset. That is not a soft warning. It is a hard description of a city built on a limestone island at sea level, with no natural topographic protection, dependent on a single road corridor for evacuation. Hurricane Irma in 2017 tested every part of that system: severe wind damage, prolonged access disruption, and recovery timelines that stretched well beyond the mainland experience. We checked twice: the gap between visitability and insurability in Key West is measurable in dollars. Annual premiums range from $5,200 to $12,500, and for barrier-adjacent and bayfront properties the upper bound is not a ceiling—it is a starting point. Elevation certificates are often central to pricing discussions, not supporting documents. Some buyers hold both a high property premium and a high flood premium simultaneously, making combined annual insurance costs a genuine budget constraint rather than a formality. The 2023 tidal flooding episodes reinforced what long-term residents already track: routine flooding is a recurring maintenance and access issue, separate from named storm scenarios. Heat at the 88th national percentile keeps cooling demands elevated year-round. The 33040 zip code's sea-level baseline means that even a well-built property faces persistent exposure from tidal events, not just hurricane landfall. Causeway dependence in the outer keys adds a practical recovery risk that insurance cannot fully price. For buyers, the checklist here starts with elevation, then evacuation logistics, before any conversation about aesthetics or rental income projections.

— Open Data Collective