How much is renters insurance? Average cost in 2026

How much does renters insurance cost per month?

A typical renters insurance policy costs $14 to $23 a month in 2026, and the spread comes down to which study you read and what size of policy it prices. NerdWallet’s September 2026 analysis found a national average of $165 a year, or $14 a month, for a 30-year-old with $30,000 of personal property coverage, $100,000 of liability and a $500 deductible. ValuePenguin’s September 2026 study, which averages quotes across every state, found $23 a month, with states ranging from $16 to $36.

The industry-wide number sits in between. The Insurance Information Institute reports the average renters premium actually paid in 2022 was $171 a year, against $1,569 for the average homeowners policy. That is the simplest way to think about it: a renters policy costs about a tenth of what homeowners pay, because you are only insuring your belongings and your liability, not the building.

Source	Monthly	Annual	What it prices
NerdWallet (Sept 2026)	$14	$165	$30k property, $100k liability, $500 deductible
ValuePenguin (Sept 2026)	$23	$276	Average quote across all 50 states
Insurance Information Institute (2022 data)	$14	$171	Average premium actually paid nationwide

If a quote comes back far above $30 a month, something specific is driving it. The rest of this guide shows what.

Average cost of renters insurance by state

Renters insurance averages run from about $16 a month in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming to $36 a month in Louisiana, according to ValuePenguin’s September 2026 data. Storm exposure explains most of the gap. The Gulf and Southeast, where wind and hail claims are common, cost the most; the northern Plains and New England cost the least.

State	Average monthly cost	Versus the $23 national average
Louisiana	$36	+57%
Arkansas	$35	+52%
Georgia	$33	+43%
Mississippi	$32	+39%
Oklahoma	$31	+35%
Texas	$25	+9%
Illinois	$23	0%
California	$19	-17%
New York	$19	-17%
Washington	$17	-26%
Montana	$16	-30%
North Dakota	$16	-30%

Two things surprise people in this table. First, the expensive coastal cities are not the expensive states: New York and California both sit below the national average, because their insurers price for theft and fire rather than hurricanes. Second, the industry’s own data agrees on the ranking. The Insurance Information Institute’s 2022 figures put Mississippi ($262 a year), Louisiana ($243) and Alabama ($219) at the top and North Dakota ($123), South Dakota ($129) and Minnesota ($135) at the bottom.

Every state page on this site shows the local average and the cheapest large insurers for that state. Start with the full list of states.

What moves the price of renters insurance?

Seven things decide your premium, and you control four of them. The table below uses ValuePenguin’s Dallas examples and NerdWallet’s 2026 rate data so you can see the size of each effect in dollars rather than adjectives.

Factor	Effect on price	Example
Personal property limit	Biggest lever you control	$15,000 of coverage costs $15 a month in Dallas; $25,000 costs $19 (ValuePenguin). A $10,000 policy averages $80 a year; $50,000 averages $185; $100,000 averages $310 (NerdWallet, Lemonade rates)
Liability limit	Small	Going from $100,000 to $300,000 raises the average premium by around 7% (ValuePenguin)
Deductible	Moderate	In Dallas with $25,000 of property coverage: $250 deductible costs $18 a month, $500 costs $17, $1,000 costs $15 (ValuePenguin)
Location (ZIP code)	Large, outside your control	State averages span $16 to $36 a month; within a state, high-theft urban ZIPs pay more
Credit-based insurance score	Large in most states	Insurers find renters with lower scores file more claims and quote them higher; a few states restrict or bar the practice
Claims history	Moderate	A claim in the past three to five years raises quotes with most insurers
Bundling with auto	Discount	Most insurers discount both policies; ask for the combined price

A quick definition, because the deductible row trips people up. The deductible is the amount subtracted from any claim payout. With a $500 deductible, a $3,000 theft claim pays $2,500. A higher deductible means a lower premium but more out of pocket when something happens.

The property limit matters more than any other choice. Our guide on how much renters insurance you need walks through a room-by-room count so you buy the right amount rather than the default.

How much does renters insurance cost by coverage amount?

Doubling your personal property coverage does not double your premium; it usually adds roughly 30% to 70%. Insuranceopedia’s 2026 figures put the annual average at $173 for $15,000 of coverage, $227 for $30,000 and $305 for $50,000. NerdWallet’s Lemonade data shows the same curve: $80 a year at $10,000, $185 at $50,000, $310 at $100,000.

That curve is the reason underinsuring rarely saves much. In NerdWallet’s Lemonade figures, cutting coverage from $50,000 to $10,000 saves about $105 a year, under $9 a month, while leaving you $40,000 short after a fire. The cheap way to cut the premium is a higher deductible, not a lower limit.

Two coverage choices barely register on price. Replacement cost coverage, which pays what it costs to buy a new equivalent of each item, runs about 10% more than actual cash value, which pays the depreciated worth. Raising liability from $100,000 to $300,000 adds about 7%. Both are worth paying for.

Which companies have the cheapest renters insurance?

In NerdWallet’s September 2026 analysis, the cheapest large insurers nationally averaged $125 to $165 a year for a $30,000 policy. Lemonade averaged $125 ($10 a month), State Farm $135, Auto-Owners $155, USAA $160 (available only to military families) and Allstate $165. State Farm had the lowest average in 17 states and Lemonade in 11; in the rest, a regional insurer was cheapest.

The spread between the cheapest and the most expensive quote for the same renter is routinely 50% or more, which is why one quote is never enough. The cheapest insurer in Georgia is not the cheapest in Texas. Get two or three quotes; it takes under half an hour.

How to pay less for renters insurance

Raising your deductible, bundling with auto and fixing your coverage limits are the three changes that cut a renters premium most, and none of them reduce the protection that matters.

1. Set the deductible to $1,000 if you could absorb it. ValuePenguin’s Dallas example shows a $1,000 deductible costing $3 a month less than $250. That saves $36 a year for a difference you would only feel after a claim.
2. Bundle with your auto policy. Most insurers discount both policies. Compare the combined price with the best standalone pair, because the bundle is not always the winner. Our guide on bundling renters and auto insurance explains how to check.
3. Buy the limit you need, not the default. A $30,000 default is right for many renters and too high for a studio with secondhand furniture. Count first.
4. Pay annually. Many insurers charge installment fees for monthly billing or discount paid-in-full policies.
5. Ask about safety-device discounts. Smoke detectors, deadbolts, sprinklers and a monitored alarm each knock a little off.
6. Requote when your credit improves. In most states the credit-based score is a major factor. If yours has risen since you bought the policy, a new quote can be meaningfully lower.
7. Avoid small claims. A $600 claim on a $500 deductible pays $100 and can raise your premium for years. Save the policy for losses that would hurt.

The full list, including discounts you may not know exist, is in our renters insurance discounts guide.

Does renters insurance cost more with roommates, pets or a home office?

Roommates, pets and a home office each change the price a little, and a pet changes it most, but none of them turn a $20 policy into a $50 one. Here is what to expect.

Roommates. Adding a roommate to your policy costs little or nothing extra, but it is usually a bad idea: you share one property limit and one claims history. Most insurers and most of our roommates guide point to separate policies, which means each of you pays the normal $14–$23 rather than splitting one.

Pets. A dog adds to the liability side of the price, and some insurers decline certain breeds or exclude the dog from coverage. Expect a few dollars a month extra for a typical dog and more if you raise liability to $300,000, which pet owners should consider. Details are in our renters insurance for pets guide.

Working from home. Standard policies cap business property, including a work laptop you own, at around $2,500 at home and $500 away. An endorsement for business equipment typically costs a few dollars a month. An endorsement, sometimes called a rider, is an add-on that changes what a policy covers.

High-value items. Jewelry over the $1,000–$1,500 theft sub-limit, a serious bike or camera gear can be scheduled, which means listed individually with an appraised value. Scheduling typically costs about $1 to $2 a year per $100 of value, so a $5,000 ring adds roughly $50 to $100 a year.

Is renters insurance worth the cost?

For almost every renter, yes: the average policy costs less than $25 a month and replaces $20,000 to $30,000 of belongings, defends you against liability claims and pays for a hotel if your place becomes unlivable. Those are the three things a standard HO-4 policy covers. HO-4 is the industry’s form name for a renters policy, as opposed to HO-3 for homeowners.

The liability piece is the one people underrate. A guest who trips on your rug, a kitchen fire that spreads to the unit next door, or a dog bite can produce bills that dwarf anything you own. The Insurance Information Institute reports the average dog-bite liability claim cost $65,450 in 2025. Your landlord’s insurance covers the building; it does not cover you or your things. If your lease requires coverage, and most leases in large apartment communities do, the question is already answered. Our guide on whether you need renters insurance covers the few exceptions.

Bottom line

Renters insurance costs about $14 to $23 a month on average in 2026, with most renters paying between $12 and $30 once state, limits and credit are counted. Your personal property limit and your ZIP code decide most of the price; your deductible and bundling decide most of what you can save. Get at least two quotes, set a deductible you could actually pay, and do not shrink the property limit to save a few dollars. The policy only works if it is big enough to replace what you own.