Which States Have the Most Expensive Health Insurance?

It’s no secret that health insurance coverage is expensive in the U.S. — but how expensive is it, really? And how do those costs vary by state? To find out, MoneyGeek analyzed data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and constructed a ranking of states based on their average annual and monthly health insurance costs.

MoneyGeek’s analysis determined that the average American pays $7,922 annually in health insurance premiums, 14% of the median annual income for full-time workers. Residents of some states are paying even more for coverage. For instance, despite efforts to make health insurance more affordable, residents in New York still could dole out as much as $18,396 annually for coverage. Four other states offer a similar cost climate to The Empire State (more than $10,000 per year), emphasizing the value of having low-cost health insurance options for consumers.

In addition to examining average health care costs, MoneyGeek also analyzed data from the United States Census Bureau and found that nearly 9% of the U.S. population lacks health insurance coverage. This indicates that the need for affordable, high-quality health insurance coverage is growing, particularly in places like Texas, where 18% of citizens are uninsured.

Find MoneyGeek’s full ranking of every state in order of least to most expensive health care coverage in the listicle below. Our breakdown also includes information about the percentage of uninsured residents in each state, as well as the average maximum out-of-pocket expense for plans there.

MoneyGeek ranked U.S. states based on their monthly and annual health insurance costs and provided additional valuable information, such as each state’s average annual maximum out-of-pocket costs (MOOP) and the percentage of uninsured individuals in each state.

To gather health insurance cost data, MoneyGeek accessed insurance cost information from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website and calculated state and national averages. For states with state or hybrid marketplaces, data was hand collected directly from the respective state's marketplace. We also utilized data from the United States Census Bureau to determine the percentage of the population without health insurance coverage in each state.