Visualizing Health Insurance As A Share Of Median Income By US State

A recent map by Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti shows the varying costs of health insurance across the United States, with some states paying significantly more than others as a share of median income. The data comes from WalletHub, which analyzed silver-tier health plan premiums in all 50 states and compared them to local median incomes. Vermont has the highest cost burden, with residents spending 19.6% of their monthly income on health insurance, followed closely by West Virginia at 18.8%. Many Southern and Mountain West states, such as Mississippi, Wyoming, and Louisiana, also rank high in insurance cost burden due to poorer health outcomes and lower median incomes. In contrast, New Hampshire has the lowest cost burden, with residents spending just 4% of their income on health insurance. Other states with low cost burdens include Massachusetts, Maryland, and Minnesota, which often have robust state-run exchanges, higher incomes, and broader Medicaid expansion. The South and Mountain West regions tend to have higher insurance costs due to factors such as Medicaid expansion status and rural demographics. The cost burden of health insurance varies significantly across the country, with some states paying nearly five times more than others as a share of median income. This disparity highlights the need for policymakers to address affordability issues in the healthcare system. Overall, the map provides a stark illustration of the uneven distribution of healthcare costs across the United States.