Data
What an ACA plan costs, state by state
The benchmark premium is the number every subsidy is calculated against. Nationally it reached $625 a month in 2026, a 26% jump in one year, and the spread between states is larger than most people imagine.
Published average monthly benchmark premium for a 40-year-old, before any tax credit. This is the plan every subsidy is calculated against.
Hover or tap a state for its full numbers.
Pick a state
Hover or tap any state. The spread is larger than most people expect: New Hampshire sits at $401 a month while Vermont sits at $1,299, for the same 40-year-old buying the same category of plan.
- National average, 2026
- $625/mo
- National average, 2025
- $497/mo
- One-year change
- +26%
2026 figures are published data: the second-lowest-cost silver premium for a 40-year-old in each county, weighted by county plan selections, from KFF’s analysis of HealthCare.gov, state rate review filings, and state plan finders. 2027 figures are projections built from filed rate increases and are labelled as such.
The one-year jump
The national average benchmark premium went from $497 a month in 2025 to $625 in 2026. That is a 26% increase in a single year, and it landed at the same moment the enhanced federal credits expired. For subsidised enrollees, the credit had been absorbing most of that. In 2026 it stopped.
Insurers attribute roughly four percentage points of the increase to the expiration itself, on the theory that healthier people leave when prices rise and the people who stay are sicker. The rest is medical trend: hospital and physician costs, provider consolidation, and specialty drugs. GLP-1 medications alone moved from about $13 to $49 per member per month in some markets.
The five most expensive states
| State | 2026 benchmark | Proposed 2027 | 2027 projected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | $1,299 | +6.5% | $1,383 |
| Wyoming | $1,090 | +11.3% | $1,213 |
| West Virginia | $1,073 | +18.3% | $1,269 |
| Alaska | $1,032 | +22.9% | $1,268 |
| Connecticut | $870 | +16.2% | $1,011 |
The five least expensive states
| State | 2026 benchmark | Proposed 2027 | 2027 projected |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | $401 | +18.4% | $475 |
| Maryland | $414 | +13.7% | $471 |
| Minnesota | $448 | +11.9% | $501 |
| Virginia | $455 | +19.0% | $541 |
| Indiana | $474 | +19.3% | $565 |
Every state
| State | 2026 benchmark | Proposed 2027 | 2027 projected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $645 | +20.2% | $775 |
| Alaska | $1,032 | +22.9% | $1,268 |
| Arizona | $532 | +29.0% | $686 |
| Arkansas | $774 | +7.6% | $833 |
| California | $570 | +9.9% | $626 |
| Colorado | $557 | +11.0% | $618 |
| Connecticut | $870 | +16.2% | $1,011 |
| Delaware | $691 | +16.9% | $808 |
| District of Columbia | $610 | +9.5% | $668 |
| Florida | $683 | +15.9% | $792 |
| Georgia | $615 | +20.7% | $742 |
| Hawaii | $541 | +11.1% | $601 |
| Idaho | $490 | +13.0% | $554 |
| Illinois | $646 | +14.1% | $737 |
| Indiana | $474 | +19.3% | $565 |
| Iowa | $501 | +6.7% | $535 |
| Kansas | $670 | +24.2% | $832 |
| Kentucky | $590 | +18.7% | $700 |
| Louisiana | $646 | +17.3% | $758 |
| Maine | $709 | +16.8% | $828 |
| Maryland | $414 | +13.7% | $471 |
| Massachusetts | $494 | +12.9% | $558 |
| Michigan | $523 | +14.2% | $597 |
| Minnesota | $448 | +11.9% | $501 |
| Mississippi | $662 | +21.8% | $806 |
| Missouri | $605 | +12.5% | $681 |
| Montana | $692 | +23.4% | $854 |
| Nebraska | $710 | +13.3% | $804 |
| Nevada | $497 | +18.6% | $589 |
| New Hampshire | $401 | +18.4% | $475 |
| New Jersey | $545 | +20.4% | $656 |
| New Mexico | $623 | +25.7% | $783 |
| New York | $817 | +20.7% | $986 |
| North Carolina | $638 | +14.9% | $733 |
| North Dakota | $570 | +19.2% | $679 |
| Ohio | $513 | +10.7% | $568 |
| Oklahoma | $604 | +20.2% | $726 |
| Oregon | $543 | +17.5% | $638 |
| Pennsylvania | $572 | +17.1% | $670 |
| Rhode Island | $506 | +20.1% | $608 |
| South Carolina | $564 | +17.5% | $663 |
| South Dakota | $655 | +10.9% | $726 |
| Tennessee | $711 | +12.7% | $801 |
| Texas | $661 | +13.1% | $748 |
| Utah | $640 | +6.8% | $684 |
| Vermont | $1,299 | +6.5% | $1,383 |
| Virginia | $455 | +19.0% | $541 |
| Washington | $612 | +22.4% | $749 |
| West Virginia | $1,073 | +18.3% | $1,269 |
| Wisconsin | $611 | +21.1% | $740 |
| Wyoming | $1,090 | +11.3% | $1,213 |
Common questions
What is a benchmark premium and why does it matter more than the average premium?
The benchmark is the second-lowest-cost silver plan in your area. It is the plan the government uses to calculate your premium tax credit, so it sets the size of every subsidy in that county. A generic average premium across all plans and ages tells you almost nothing about what you will pay.
Why is Vermont three times more expensive than New Hampshire?
Vermont and New York use pure community rating, meaning insurers cannot charge more for older enrollees, so everyone pays a blended rate that looks very high for a 40-year-old and very reasonable for a 60-year-old. Small risk pools, hospital consolidation, and how much of the market sits inside the exchange also drive large differences between neighbouring states.
Are the 2027 numbers final?
No. The 2027 figures on this page are projections, built by taking each state's published 2026 benchmark and applying the average rate increase insurers there have filed. Filed rates are not approved rates. State regulators review them through the autumn and often reduce them. Final rates are published shortly before open enrollment.
Does a high state average mean I will pay that much?
Not necessarily. These are state averages weighted across counties, and the spread inside a state can be as wide as the spread between states. Rural counties with a single hospital system are frequently the most expensive places in the country. Your own county number is the one that counts.
Sources
- 1.KFF: Preliminary 2027 rate filings
- 2.Peterson-KFF: How much and why premiums are rising in 2027
- 3.healthinsurance.org: 2027 proposed rates by state
- 4.KFF: What we know about 2026 enrollment, premiums, and deductibles
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