How much is home insurance per month in California?

Monthly is how most people think about insurance, since it's usually folded into the mortgage escrow. Here's what California homeowners actually pay per month — using the state's own filed-rate data, not a national guess.

Key takeaways

• For a $625,000 home, a standard policy typically runs ~$90–$170/month depending on the county.
• That's the median across counties of about $1,300–$1,400/yr ÷ 12.
• The FAIR Plan (used when the standard market won't write you) averages about $251/month — higher, and fire-only.

The monthly math

Insurance is filed and quoted annually, so "per month" is just the annual premium ÷ 12. Using the California Department of Insurance's filed median premiums for a $625,000 dwelling (effective May 1 2026):

• A typical county median lands around $1,300–$1,400/yr → ~$110–$117/month.
• Lower-cost counties run nearer $1,000/yr → ~$85/month.
• Higher-risk counties run $1,900+/yr → ~$160+/month.

Because shopping matters, the realistic range for the same home is wide — see your county's median and middle-50% range.

Why the FAIR Plan is more per month

If no standard carrier will write you, the fallback is the FAIR Plan, which averages $3,008/yr ≈ $251/month statewide for an owner-occupied home (California FAIR Plan, March 2026) — and it covers fire only. Add a DIC policy for liability and water, and the monthly figure climbs further. That gap is why it pays to exhaust the standard market first.

Lowering the monthly number

• Shop the full range — the spread between carriers is real money.
• Document wildfire mitigation for mandated discounts (see Safer from Wildfires).
• Re-shop every renewal as carriers re-enter.

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Figures are public filed data from the California Department of Insurance (§12959, $625,000 dwelling, effective 2026-05-01) and the California FAIR Plan. These are filed-data ranges, not quotes.