The New York metropolitan area has the largest number of homes vulnerable to hurricanes of any area in the United States, property analytics firm Cotality has reported.

More than 3.27 million New York homes face moderate or greater hurricane wind risk, representing nearly $1.93 trillion in reconstruction costs. Nearly one in five of those homes are also at risk of storm surge, Cotality’s Hurricane Risk Report found.

Houston ranks second to New York with 2.17 million at-risk homes and roughly $824 billion in exposed value, while Miami ranks third with 2.04 million homes at risk and $616 billion in reconstruction costs.

New York also leads the US in storm surge exposure, with more than 631,000 homes at risk and roughly $329 billion in reconstruction costs. Miami ranks second with nearly 495,000 at-risk homes, followed by Tampa, New Orleans and Cape Coral.

Hurricane risk is one of the largest perils covered by Bermudian reinsurers, who were estimated to have paid 30 per cent of losses related to 2017 hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, for example.

“While hurricanes hit the northeast less frequently than the Gulf Coast, the region's immense population density and property value mean the stakes are incredibly high,” said Maiclaire Bolton-Smith, vice-president of insurance market insights at Cotality.

“It’s critical that homeowners in the northeast understand that while landfalling hurricanes may not be as frequent as other states, the risk is still real.

“A single event can cause historic financial loss, making early mitigation a critical investment that pays significant dividends when a storm inevitably makes landfall.”

Hurricanes are rare in the Northeast, relative to their frequency in the Gulf Coast area. Superstorm Sandy devastated New York City in 2012, and the remnants of Hurricane Ida flooded the northeast in 2021.

However, the report found New York was more vulnerable than some southern at-risk locations on measures of coastal preparedness and building practices, making properties more vulnerable.

At the state level, Florida remains the nation’s single largest concentration of hurricane exposure, with approximately 8.25 million homes at moderate or greater risk from hurricane winds, representing more than $2.56 trillion in reconstruction cost value.

Texas ranks second nationally for hurricane wind exposure with nearly 4.8 million homes at risk, followed by North Carolina with more than 3.1 million exposed homes.

Florida also leads the US in storm surge exposure, with approximately 2.47 million homes at risk and nearly $748 billion in exposed property value — more than three times greater than Louisiana, the second-highest state for storm surge exposure.