2026 Report
Group Health Insurance Premiums by State
Table: Share of Single-Coverage, Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums Paid by Workers and Employers, respectively, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, KFF 2025 data
Each row of the table includes the following data about employer-sponsored health insurance premiums in the 50 states and the District of Columbia: This information was compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation at KFF State Health Facts (sourced from the federal MEPS-IC survey) and can be found in its 2025 edition. We compiled it because brokers and benefits sellers are always looking for such information presented in table format. Most of it can be found only by using KFF’s interactive tool.
Quick answer: The average annual premium for employer-based single coverage is $9,025 per year in 2025. Employers cover an average of $7,208 of this amount (80%), while employees cover $1,817 (20%). The average annual premiums for single coverage vary widely by state, ranging from $10,913 in New York to $7,612 in Mississippi, representing a 43% difference. KFF’s national employer survey found the average annual premium for family coverage in 2025 to be $26,993.
Key limitations: Sample sizes for family coverage are not large enough to be presented by state in a meaningful way. Accordingly, the table is limited to single coverage. Also, these figures are averages per worker with coverage; some of the apparent differences across states reflect different mixes of plans (PPO vs HDHP) and firm sizes.
Employer single coverage premiums by state, 2025
| State | Total premium | Worker pays | Employer pays | Worker share | vs US average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $10,913 | $2,231 | $8,682 | 20% | +20.9% |
| Alaska | $10,630 | $1,931 | $8,699 | 18% | +17.8% |
| Massachusetts | $10,436 | $2,038 | $8,398 | 20% | +15.6% |
| Vermont | $10,004 | $2,187 | $7,817 | 22% | +10.8% |
| Connecticut | $9,987 | $1,771 | $8,216 | 18% | +10.7% |
| Maine | $9,803 | $1,869 | $7,934 | 19% | +8.6% |
| District of Columbia | $9,762 | $1,863 | $7,899 | 19% | +8.2% |
| New Jersey | $9,743 | $2,223 | $7,520 | 23% | +8.0% |
| Illinois | $9,724 | $1,858 | $7,866 | 19% | +7.7% |
| Wisconsin | $9,557 | $2,052 | $7,505 | 21% | +5.9% |
| New Hampshire | $9,502 | $2,350 | $7,152 | 25% | +5.3% |
| Delaware | $9,459 | $2,120 | $7,339 | 22% | +4.8% |
| New Mexico | $9,447 | $1,767 | $7,680 | 19% | +4.7% |
| Pennsylvania | $9,421 | $1,669 | $7,752 | 18% | +4.4% |
| Rhode Island | $9,388 | $2,046 | $7,342 | 22% | +4.0% |
| North Dakota | $9,318 | $1,579 | $7,739 | 17% | +3.2% |
| Oregon | $9,225 | $1,499 | $7,726 | 16% | +2.2% |
| California | $9,162 | $1,515 | $7,647 | 17% | +1.5% |
| Wyoming | $8,997 | $1,497 | $7,500 | 17% | -0.3% |
| South Dakota | $8,985 | $1,730 | $7,255 | 19% | -0.4% |
| Virginia | $8,970 | $2,054 | $6,916 | 23% | -0.6% |
| Kentucky | $8,936 | $1,947 | $6,989 | 22% | -1.0% |
| Florida | $8,919 | $1,913 | $7,006 | 21% | -1.2% |
| Georgia | $8,907 | $1,748 | $7,159 | 20% | -1.3% |
| Nebraska | $8,907 | $1,722 | $7,185 | 19% | -1.3% |
| Montana | $8,899 | $1,493 | $7,406 | 17% | -1.4% |
| West Virginia | $8,878 | $2,012 | $6,866 | 23% | -1.6% |
| Colorado | $8,816 | $1,618 | $7,198 | 18% | -2.3% |
| Louisiana | $8,806 | $2,259 | $6,547 | 26% | -2.4% |
| Ohio | $8,804 | $2,016 | $6,788 | 23% | -2.4% |
| Idaho | $8,770 | $1,686 | $7,084 | 19% | -2.8% |
| Maryland | $8,760 | $2,065 | $6,695 | 24% | -2.9% |
| Washington | $8,712 | $1,381 | $7,331 | 16% | -3.5% |
| Tennessee | $8,667 | $1,645 | $7,022 | 19% | -4.0% |
| Kansas | $8,657 | $1,784 | $6,873 | 21% | -4.1% |
| Iowa | $8,620 | $2,025 | $6,595 | 23% | -4.5% |
| North Carolina | $8,612 | $2,012 | $6,600 | 23% | -4.6% |
| Minnesota | $8,586 | $1,939 | $6,647 | 23% | -4.9% |
| South Carolina | $8,552 | $1,814 | $6,738 | 21% | -5.2% |
| Texas | $8,543 | $1,638 | $6,905 | 19% | -5.3% |
| Utah | $8,448 | $1,591 | $6,857 | 19% | -6.4% |
| Indiana | $8,355 | $2,137 | $6,218 | 26% | -7.4% |
| Hawaii | $8,285 | $857 | $7,428 | 10% | -8.2% |
| Michigan | $8,230 | $1,970 | $6,260 | 24% | -8.8% |
| Nevada | $8,215 | $1,563 | $6,652 | 19% | -9.0% |
| Alabama | $8,169 | $2,048 | $6,121 | 25% | -9.5% |
| Oklahoma | $8,124 | $1,558 | $6,566 | 19% | -10.0% |
| Missouri | $8,084 | $1,649 | $6,435 | 20% | -10.4% |
| Arkansas | $7,804 | $1,795 | $6,009 | 23% | -13.5% |
| Arizona | $7,734 | $1,837 | $5,897 | 24% | -14.3% |
| Mississippi | $7,612 | $1,716 | $5,896 | 23% | -15.7% |
Three findings from this table:
- Most of the top-ranked regions/states are located in the Northeast or Alaska; New York, Alaska, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut are all 10 to 21% above the national average.
- Health insurance premiums: In Hawaii, workers bear just 10% of the premium because the state has an employer mandate. In Indiana and Louisiana, workers bear 26% of premiums. The share that workers bear varies more than total premiums. Similar overall costs have very different implications for take-home pay.
- Likewise, a 43% spread between New York and Mississippi will drive your blended rate based on where your employees live much more than which carrier you choose.
The two numbers that get mixed up
This table by state is from MEPS-IC via KFF State Health Facts. There’s also KFF’s Employer Health Benefits Survey, which is a national firm survey (the 2025 number there for single coverage is $9,325, +5% over the year, and $26,993 for family, +6%). There are thus two good, federal-grade surveys of employer-provided health premiums out there, and it’s OK to use whichever makes sense for your needs, but don’t, as about half the stories that mention them do, cite KFF’s national average for 2025 single coverage ($9,325) using MEPS-IC as your source, which puts that number at $9,025.
What this means for group health sellers
States with higher premiums represent greater pain around switching and therefore an increased desire to explore other options. In states where the share of the premium that workers pay exceeds 24%, you have an increased likelihood of workers pressuring employers to shop around. Use this information, along with renewal times for each state to help brokers and group health providers move away from generic outbound group health calls and develop a highly effective prospecting engine. Download our internal benchmarks for group health conversions once the initial conversation has been made.
Conclusions
- The national premium for single coverage is $9,025 and increasing at about 5% a year. Based on their survey, KFF puts the cost of family coverage close to $27,000.
- With a 43% spread between the best and worst performing states, geographic location impacts quoting results as much as the choice of insurance carriers, making benchmarking statistics without geographic detail virtually useless for quoting purposes.
- Another hidden gem is the share of the premium paid by workers, which ranges from 10 to 26 percent. It motivates plan-shopping more than the (also shown) headline premiums.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the average employer health insurance premium by state?
- Single coverage costs range from $7,612 per enrolled worker annually on average in Mississippi to $10,913 in New York, compared to a national average of $9,025 in 2025, according to KFF State Health Facts.
- How much do employees pay toward group health insurance?
- Workers pay $1,817 or 20% of the single premium nationwide, with employers paying the remaining $7,208 or 80%. Worker contribution ranges from 10% of the premium in Hawaii to 26% in Indiana and Louisiana.
- What does family coverage cost in 2025?
- Note that sample sizes for family coverage are not comparable by state. The average costs of employer-provided health coverage nationally are $9,325 annually for single coverage and $26,993 for family coverage according to the KFF 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey.
- Why do different sources report different national averages?
- Consistently use one source, don’t combine MEPS-IC and KFF in a single comparison. This is why MEPS-IC (a federal-grade survey that forms the basis of this table) reports a single value of $9,025 while KFF’s federal-grade national employer survey reports $9,325 because the surveys use different sampling methodologies.
-
Sources & methodology
- Average Annual Single Premium per Enrolled Employee, Employer-Based Health Insurance. KFF State Health Facts (MEPS-IC). 2025.
- 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey. KFF. October 2025.
- Percentage columns computed by Upcision Research from the KFF state values above.
- PDF copy: Want this report as a PDF? Contact us through upcision.com and we’ll send it over.
- Writers may cite this report, providing that the work is attributed to Upcision Research and includes a link to this page.
