Vermonters Spend Highest Percentage of Income on Health Insurance In United States

Health insurance premiums have gone up a lot in recent years, rising by 6% for individual plans and 7% for family plans just in 2024.

Although prices are rising all over the country, certain states are much more expensive than others. Insurance premiums can cost as much as 20% of the median monthly household income in the most expensive states, but just 4% in the least expensive states.

To identify where Americans are shelling out the most and least for health insurance, WalletHub analyzed the average premiums for a silver health insurance plan (which has a moderate deductible but fairly low premiums) in each of the 50 states, then compared it to the median household income.

Understanding how to budget well can help you prepare for the high cost of health insurance. Regardless of how skillfully you maintain your budget, though, some people will need to pay more for health insurance just because of where they live.

People in Vermont spend the most on health insurance as a percentage of their income. The average Vermonter shells out nearly 20% of their income on health insurance premiums. For comparison, residents of neighboring New Hampshire only spend an average of 4% of their income on insurance.

Vermont has the 19th-highest median household income in the country, at $78,024. However, the average monthly health care premium (for a silver plan) in the state is $1,275, the highest in the country, so people end up spending a disproportionate amount of their income on insurance.