Owning a beach home is a dream for many, but that dream can quickly become a nightmare thanks to factors including flooding and rising sea level.

And Gulf Shores is among the riskiest places to own a beach home in the country, according to a recent study by Assurance.

Using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and Zillow, the study examined 75 U.S. beach towns and compiled scores for each using a point system taken from data including:

• Percentage of homes at risk of flooding
• Percentage of population living in at-risk homes
• Property value of at-risk homes
• Property taxes of at-risk homes
• Overall flooding risk
• Projected sea level rise
• Landslide severity
• Acres burned by wildfires
• Number of hurricanes
• Median home value

The study assigned each town a score of 0-5 in each category, with the higher the score meaning the more at risk. Each town’s total score was compiled from its individual factor scores, which were weighted according to their impact on the risk associated with owning a beach house.

Among those 75 beach towns, Gulf Shores ranked 7th, compiling a score of 32.7 out of 50. Galveston, Texas, took the dubious title of riskiest place to own a beach home with a score of 37.24.

Four Florida beach towns made the top 20, although none in the Florida Panhandle. Key West ranked 8th (32.24); Miami Beach was 10th (30.37); Sanibel Island was 16th (28.26); and Clearwater was 19th (25.23).

Among beach towns with the most homes at risk of flooding, Gulf Shores ranked 8th, with 6.81% of its beach homes considered at risk. Ocracoke, N.C., located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, had the greatest share of at-risk homes at 33.12%.

When the study examined which beach towns had the highest property values at risk of flooding, Gulf Shores moved up even higher on the list.

Gulf Shores has an average property value of $1.09 million among its homes which are at risk of flooding, just behind Miami Beach ($1.17 million).

Interestingly, while southern U.S. beach towns comprise 10 of the top 20 overall riskiest beach towns in which to own a home, only Gulf Shores and St. Simons Island, Ga., crack the top 10 in both highest percentage of at risk homes and highest average property value among at risk beach homes.

Unsurprisingly, Newport Beach, Calif., which has some of the nation’s highest overall property values, also has the highest property value among homes at risk of flooding, with an average value of $2.6 million.