How much does health insurance cost at 40? 2026 prices in every state
Forty is the age the whole industry uses as its yardstick. Insurers file their rates around it, KFF reports benchmark premiums for it, and the federal age curve that sets every Marketplace price treats a 40-year-old as roughly 1.28 times the cost of a 21-year-old and about half the cost of a 64-year-old. So if you want one honest answer to "what does health insurance cost," the 40-year-old is the place to start, and the table below gives it for every state.
Two things before the numbers. First, Marketplace prices here are full price, the monthly premium before any tax credit. Most people who qualify for a credit pay far less, and the second half of this guide shows exactly how much less. Second, the private column is a different animal: private plans are priced on age, sex and health, not income, so they do not get cheaper when your income drops, but they also do not jump when it rises.
The short answer
In the 30 states that sell plans through HealthCare.gov, the cheapest Bronze plan available to a 40-year-old in 2026 runs from a little over $330 a month in the least expensive counties of the cheapest states to about $650 in Alaska, with most states landing between $375 and $500. Florida's cheapest county starts at $427, Alabama at $366, Arizona at $375. The silver benchmark, which is the plan the tax credit is calculated against, is higher everywhere: roughly $640 in Alabama, $700 in Florida, and over $1,000 in Alaska.
Private plans for a healthy 40-year-old start well under the cheapest Bronze in every state we have rates for. In Florida a 40-year-old man is typically quoted $137 to $479 a month and a woman $173 to $531, before anyone has asked a health question. That gap is the whole reason this site shows both sides.
Every state, one table
| State | Cheapest Bronze, 40 | Silver benchmark, 40 | Private, man 40 | Private, woman 40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $366 | $639 | $109–$445 | $143–$494 |
| Alaska | $648 | $1,056 | — | — |
| Arizona | $375 | $713 | $109–$445 | $143–$494 |
| Arkansas | $447 | $774 | $131–$472 | $169–$527 |
| California (est.) | $414 | $570 | — | — |
| Colorado (est.) | $404 | $557 | $78–$402 | $121–$460 |
| Connecticut (est.) | $632 | $870 | — | — |
| Delaware | $542 | $692 | $73–$401 | $114–$457 |
| District of Columbia (est.) | — | — | — | — |
| Florida | $427 | $699 | $137–$479 | $173–$531 |
| Georgia (est.) | $446 | $615 | $114–$451 | $143–$494 |
| Hawaii | $414 | $543 | — | — |
| Idaho (est.) | $356 | $490 | $109–$445 | $143–$494 |
| Illinois (est.) | $469 | $646 | $131–$472 | $166–$523 |
| Indiana | $376 | $473 | $65–$391 | $80–$414 |
| Iowa | $338 | $525 | $131–$472 | $166–$523 |
| Kansas | $442 | $719 | $112–$449 | $145–$496 |
| Kentucky (est.) | $428 | $590 | $97–$430 | $127–$474 |
| Louisiana | $402 | $729 | $131–$472 | $169–$527 |
| Maine (est.) | $515 | $709 | — | — |
| Maryland (est.) | $301 | $414 | $73–$401 | $114–$457 |
| Massachusetts (est.) | $359 | $494 | — | — |
| Michigan | $345 | $614 | $114–$451 | $143–$494 |
| Minnesota (est.) | $325 | $448 | — | — |
| Mississippi | $563 | $700 | $126–$466 | $160–$515 |
| Missouri | $405 | $715 | $120–$458 | $153–$506 |
| Montana | $354 | $716 | $152–$498 | $136–$484 |
| Nebraska | $494 | $785 | $131–$472 | $169–$527 |
| Nevada (est.) | $361 | $497 | $109–$445 | $143–$494 |
| New Hampshire | $317 | $414 | — | — |
| New Jersey (est.) | $396 | $545 | — | — |
| New Mexico (est.) | $452 | $623 | — | — |
| New York (est.) | $593 | $817 | — | — |
| North Carolina | $420 | $686 | $92–$424 | $121–$466 |
| North Dakota | $332 | $628 | — | — |
| Ohio | $356 | $536 | $92–$424 | $114–$457 |
| Oklahoma | $403 | $592 | $131–$472 | $169–$527 |
| Oregon | $426 | $624 | — | — |
| Pennsylvania (est.) | $415 | $572 | $78–$402 | $121–$460 |
| Rhode Island (est.) | $367 | $506 | — | — |
| South Carolina | $336 | $556 | $131–$472 | $169–$527 |
| South Dakota | $406 | $709 | $118–$456 | $153–$506 |
| Tennessee | $466 | $716 | $118–$456 | $151–$504 |
| Texas | $352 | $724 | $112–$449 | $149–$501 |
| Utah | $472 | $878 | $92–$424 | $114–$457 |
| Vermont (est.) | $943 | $1,299 | — | — |
| Virginia (est.) | $330 | $455 | $131–$472 | $169–$527 |
| Washington (est.) | $444 | $612 | — | — |
| West Virginia | $682 | $1,094 | $120–$458 | $153–$506 |
| Wisconsin | $353 | $631 | $128–$469 | $164–$520 |
| Wyoming | $740 | $1,104 | $118–$456 | $153–$506 |
Marketplace columns: full monthly price for a 40-year-old before any tax credit, from the CMS plan-year 2026 file (snapshot August 4, 2026); "(est.)" marks states that run their own marketplace, where the figure is a statewide estimate from the KFF benchmark. Private columns: the starting range a healthy applicant is typically quoted, from the carrier rate tables our advisors use, after their usual adjustment; health questions apply.
Click any state for county-level prices, the cheapest plans by name, and tax-credit examples.
Full price is not what most people pay
The Marketplace premium tax credit lowers the monthly bill for households earning between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. For 2026 coverage the government uses the 2025 poverty guidelines, so the limits look like this:
| Household size | 100% of poverty level | 138% (Medicaid line in expansion states) | 400% (tax-credit limit) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,650 | $21,597 | $62,600 |
| 2 | $21,150 | $29,187 | $84,600 |
| 3 | $26,650 | $36,777 | $106,600 |
| 4 | $32,150 | $44,367 | $128,600 |
| 5 | $37,650 | $51,957 | $150,600 |
| 6 | $43,150 | $59,547 | $172,600 |
2025 HHS poverty guidelines for the 48 contiguous states and DC, which apply to 2026 coverage (Alaska and Hawaii are higher). Source: 90 FR 5917 and IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25.
The credit is the gap between the silver benchmark in your county and the share of income the law says you should contribute, which for 2026 runs from about 2% of income at the bottom of the range to 9.96% at the top. A worked example from Hillsborough County, Florida, where the benchmark for a 40-year-old is $649: a single person earning $40,000 sits at 255% of the poverty level, is expected to contribute about $286 a month, and therefore gets a credit of roughly $362. The cheapest Bronze plan there lists at $478, so it costs that person about $117 a month. The same person earning $65,000 is above the $62,600 limit, gets no credit at all, and pays the full $478.
That second case matters more in 2026 than it has for five years. The larger credits that applied from 2021 through 2025 expired on December 31, 2025, and Congress did not extend them, so the cliff at 400% of the poverty level is back. One dollar over the line and the credit is zero. If your income is anywhere near the limit, the numbers in this table are the numbers you will actually face, and the private column suddenly matters a lot.
What the private column is, and is not
Private plans are not Marketplace plans and are not sold through HealthCare.gov. They are medically underwritten, which means the application asks health questions and the carrier can decline you, charge more, or exclude a condition. In exchange, healthy applicants usually get a lower premium than the cheapest Bronze plan, a lower deductible, and a PPO-style network that travels, and they can apply in any month of the year rather than waiting for Open Enrollment.
The ranges in the table are the starting ranges a healthy applicant is typically quoted in each state, based on the carrier rate tables our advisors work from, after the adjustment they normally apply. The low end assumes a clean application and a higher deductible; the high end is a richer plan with more first-dollar coverage. Where the state shows a dash, we do not publish a private range online yet and an advisor quotes it by phone.
Two honest cautions. If you have an ongoing condition, a private carrier may exclude it, and the Marketplace, which cannot, is usually the better answer even at a higher premium. And if you qualify for a meaningful tax credit, the Marketplace number you actually pay may already be below the private range; the tool on this site runs both for your household so you can see which is true for you.
Why two 40-year-olds in the same state pay different amounts
- Rating area. Every state is split into pricing regions, and the same plan from the same insurer can cost 20% more in one county than in the next one over.
- How many insurers compete. Counties with one insurer are the expensive ones. Counties with six or more usually have a Bronze plan far below the state median.
- Network type. Most of the cheapest Marketplace plans are HMOs or EPOs tied to a local network. PPOs, where they exist at all, sit toward the top of each tier.
- Tobacco. Marketplace insurers in most states may charge tobacco users up to 50% more; the figures here are non-tobacco rates.
Age changes everything too. The federal curve makes a 50-year-old about 40% more expensive than a 40-year-old and a 60-year-old more than twice as expensive, which is why the county pages on this site show prices at 21, 30, 40, 50 and 60 rather than a single number.
Questions people ask
Is $478 a month normal for a 40-year-old?
For a full-price Marketplace Bronze plan in a big metro county, yes. In 2026 the cheapest Bronze for a 40-year-old is between roughly $375 and $500 in most HealthCare.gov states, before any tax credit. With a credit, or on a private plan for a healthy applicant, the monthly cost is often well under $200.
Do the prices in the table include the tax credit?
No. They are full monthly premiums, the same figure the Marketplace shows before it applies your credit. Enter your income in the tool to see the credit estimate for your county and household; the credit is based on the silver benchmark column.
Why is the private range so much lower than the Marketplace price?
Because private plans are underwritten. They price healthy applicants as healthy, while Marketplace plans must accept everyone at the same rate. The trade is real: a private plan can exclude a pre-existing condition or decline an application, and it is not ACA coverage, so it fits healthy households far better than households with ongoing care.
Sources: CMS QHP Landscape PY2026 Individual Medical file (data.healthcare.gov, snapshot August 4, 2026) for every Marketplace figure; KFF benchmark premiums for states that run their own marketplace; HHS 2025 poverty guidelines and IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25 for the credit maths; carrier rate tables used by our advisors for private ranges. Figures are monthly, non-tobacco, and can change before Open Enrollment.