Around the U.S., millions of homes and businesses are at risk of severe weather or wildfire. In 2023, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) reported that severe weather and climate disasters caused $95.1 billion in damages. Reducing the impact of these weather events on our communities such that we have resilient infrastructure instead of disastrous damage requires a change. A key focus area to mitigating risk and protecting communities is strengthening the built environment. Building codes are a critical component to making our homes and businesses resilient to risks they face.
Building codes are minimum standards for the design and construction of buildings to protect life safety. In the U.S., building codes can be adopted and enforced at the state, county or municipal level. Model building codes are developed by the International Code Council (ICC), through a consensus-based review process that includes a wide range of stakeholders that include state and local officials, architects, engineers, builders, contractors and product manufacturers, among others. The International Residential Code (IRC) is the most well-known model building codes; updated on a three-year schedule. The 2021 edition is the most widely adopted version of this code.
Modern enforced building codes are the key to reducing the damage, displacement, disruption, and financial costs associated with destructive natural disasters. A 2023 study by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) and CoreLogic found that the adoption of modern building codes reduced mortgage delinquency rates after a hurricane by nearly 50%, emphasizing the direct impact strong building codes have in preventing damage and maintaining financial stability after a disaster occurs.
Despite the benefits they provide, building codes are not uniformly adopted throughout the United States. The last time this changed on a statewide basis was 2008. For states lacking a statewide code, local jurisdictions must try to fill the gap and often struggle to do so. Because of this, only 35% of Americans live in communities with modern codes.
What Is ‘Rating the States?’
IBHS is a nonprofit that researches ways to strengthen homes and businesses to reduce damage caused by severe weather and wildfire. The IBHS Rating the States report has evaluated building code adoption in the 18 states along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from Texas to Maine since 2012. It is released every three years to coincide with the building code cycle and ranks each state on a 100-point scale by analyzing specific factors in the current code environment that influence windstorm resilience.
2024 Rating the States Findings
Virginia topped the 2024 Rating the States rankings with a record-setting score of 96 after two consecutive second-place finishes. The state’s climb to the number one spot can be attributed to its adoption of the 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) and improved training programs for code officials and contractors.
Florida, which has held the top spot since 2018, scored 95 this year. Florida’s impressive adoption and enforcement of modern building codes have proven to make a difference. IBHS’s “Observations in Building Performance in Southwest Florida During Hurricane Ian (2022)” research estimated the modern Florida Building Code prevented between $1 and 3 billion in damage to single family homes after the hurricane made landfall in 2022.
South Carolina ranked third in this year’s Rating the States after being identified as a “state to watch” in the 2021 report. New Jersey followed in fourth place, while Louisiana jumped three spots to fifth place after making training mandatory for code officials and adopting the 2021 IRC. Louisiana also demonstrated its commitment to resilient construction after launching the Fortify Louisiana Homes grant program, helping homeowners upgrade their roofs to the beyond-code FORTIFIED standard. With a score of 90, Connecticut rounds out the top-third of the list. Rhode Island follows close behind in seventh place with 90 points as well.
Though it’s encouraging to see many hurricane-prone states taking on the adoption of modern codes, eight of 18 states assessed in the 2023 report scored lower than they did in 2021. The most concerning action taken by any state during this cycle of Rating the States occurred in North Carolina. Currently ranking eighth, but already six years behind the latest code, North Carolina passed a moratorium on code adoption last year that defers the next update until at least 2031.
Massachusetts and Maryland are rated ninth and tenth, with both state’s score dropping a point since 2021. Georgia lands in 11th place and New York in 12th, with New York gaining seven points, and Georgia losing two since the last report.
Mississippi ranked 15th but had the biggest overall improvement since the report was last issued in 2021. The state gained 15 points this year due to recent changes around licensing, competency testing, and continuing education for contractors. The rest of the bottom-third includes New Hampshire (13th), Maine (14th), Texas (16th) and Alabama (17th). Though Delaware gained six points since the 2021 report, it continues to sit in 18th place with just 23 points.
Building Codes Are Policy Decisions
Our system of building code enforcement and adoption relies on policymakers within the jurisdiction, who must take into consideration the opinions of a range of stakeholders. Typically, there is no single reason a state’s building code adoption lags. Builders aim to construct resilient, strong, quality structures, but sometimes find themselves in a confusing situation due to contradicting state and local codes across jurisdictional lines.
One of the more common arguments against building code adoption is its potentially negative effects on local real estate markets. Yet, this argument has not been substantiated. In fact, the opposite has been illustrated. Alabama’s Mobile and Baldwin counties and the entire state of Florida prove that it is possible to have resilient, modern building codes without a negative impact on the real estate market. Building with mitigation actions in mind can raise the initial price point of a property — yet potentially reduce repair costs from natural hazards and potentially lower property insurance rates — while increasing property values and stabilizing communities which can recover more quickly after storms.
Moving Toward a More Resilient Environment
When codes come up short, property owners and builders can lean in and use beyond-code solutions, like building or retrofitting their home or businesses to the FORTIFIED standard. FORTIFIED is a voluntary construction method backed by decades of research that can help protect properties against severe weather. Some states, including Alabama, Louisiana and North Carolina, have adopted state grant programs for homeowners interested in re-roofing to the FORTIFIED standard.
As severe weather continues to increase in frequency and intensity, modern building code adoption has become more important than ever. Individuals in lagging states can make a difference by sparking conversations with their local policymakers and vocalizing the desire for a more resilient community. Property owners are not powerless, resilient building codes can benefit every state along the hurricane coast. We know how to build to protect against these natural perils. Adopted and enforced modern codes are key to bringing that protection to our homes.
