15 States With the Highest Health Insurance Costs for Employees and Employers

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Take Command.

Health insurance is a crucial component of employee compensation, typically representing the largest benefit expense for companies outside of wages.

As health care costs continue to rise in the U.S., access to competitive health insurance is vital for employees, who rely on these benefits to mitigate the growing costs of care.

For employers, offering comprehensive health insurance packages is an essential tool not only for attracting talent, but also for retaining workers who might otherwise seek positions offering better coverage.

Employer-sponsored plans remain the primary source of health insurance for most Americans under 65 and their families, covering nearly 165 million people in 2023. However, the cost of providing these benefits is becoming increasingly difficult for both employees and employers.

Projections for 2025 indicate that health care costs will increase by 8%, reflecting the continued pressure of rising prices.

To find the states with the highest health insurance costs, researchers at Take Command — a platform that helps companies provide health benefits to employees through health reimbursement arrangements — analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For more information, see the methodology section at the end.

Here are the states with the highest health insurance premiums.

15. Vermont

• Average health insurance premium (single coverage): $8,284
• Average employee contribution (single coverage): $2,145
• Average employer contribution (single coverage): $6,139
• Average health insurance premium (family coverage): $25,588
• Average employee contribution (family coverage): $7,635
• Average employer contribution (family coverage): $17,953
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (single coverage): 25.9%
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (family coverage): 29.8%

14. New Mexico

• Average health insurance premium (single coverage): $8,333
• Average employee contribution (single coverage): $1,672
• Average employer contribution (single coverage): $6,661
• Average health insurance premium (family coverage): $24,207
• Average employee contribution (family coverage): $6,380
• Average employer contribution (family coverage): $17,827
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (single coverage): 20.1%
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (family coverage): 26.4%

13. Rhode Island

• Average health insurance premium (single coverage): $8,347
• Average employee contribution (single coverage): $1,699
• Average employer contribution (single coverage): $6,648
• Average health insurance premium (family coverage): $23,412
• Average employee contribution (family coverage): $6,066
• Average employer contribution (family coverage): $17,346
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (single coverage): 20.4%
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (family coverage): 25.9%

12. Minnesota

• Average health insurance premium (single coverage): $8,355
• Average employee contribution (single coverage): $1,672
• Average employer contribution (single coverage): $6,683
• Average health insurance premium (family coverage): $25,212
• Average employee contribution (family coverage): $6,254
• Average employer contribution (family coverage): $18,958
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (single coverage): 20.0%
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (family coverage): 24.8%

11. South Dakota

• Average health insurance premium (single coverage): $8,394
• Average employee contribution (single coverage): $1,663
• Average employer contribution (single coverage): $6,731
• Average health insurance premium (family coverage): $24,103
• Average employee contribution (family coverage): $7,262
• Average employer contribution (family coverage): $16,841
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (single coverage): 19.8%
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (family coverage): 30.1%

10. North Dakota

• Average health insurance premium (single coverage): $8,504
• Average employee contribution (single coverage): $1,145
• Average employer contribution (single coverage): $7,359
• Average health insurance premium (family coverage): $22,825
• Average employee contribution (family coverage): $6,539
• Average employer contribution (family coverage): $16,286
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (single coverage): 13.5%
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (family coverage): 28.6%

9. West Virginia

• Average health insurance premium (single coverage): $8,669
• Average employee contribution (single coverage): $1,753
• Average employer contribution (single coverage): $6,916
• Average health insurance premium (family coverage): $24,774
• Average employee contribution (family coverage): $6,023
• Average employer contribution (family coverage): $18,751
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (single coverage): 20.2%
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (family coverage): 24.3%

8. New Hampshire

• Average health insurance premium (single coverage): $8,679
• Average employee contribution (single coverage): $1,828
• Average employer contribution (single coverage): $6,851
• Average health insurance premium (family coverage): $25,983
• Average employee contribution (family coverage): $5,902
• Average employer contribution (family coverage): $20,081
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (single coverage): 21.1%
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (family coverage): 22.7%

7. Connecticut

• Average health insurance premium (single coverage): $8,750
• Average employee contribution (single coverage): $2,053
• Average employer contribution (single coverage): $6,697
• Average health insurance premium (family coverage): $25,529
• Average employee contribution (family coverage): $7,653
• Average employer contribution (family coverage): $17,876
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (single coverage): 23.5%
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (family coverage): 30.0%

6. Wyoming

• Average health insurance premium (single coverage): $8,845
• Average employee contribution (single coverage): $1,363
• Average employer contribution (single coverage): $7,482
• Average health insurance premium (family coverage): $24,984
• Average employee contribution (family coverage): $6,610
• Average employer contribution (family coverage): $18,374
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (single coverage): 15.4%
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (family coverage): 26.5%

5. Maine

• Average health insurance premium (single coverage): $8,892
• Average employee contribution (single coverage): $1,565
• Average employer contribution (single coverage): $7,327
• Average health insurance premium (family coverage): $25,207
• Average employee contribution (family coverage): $6,402
• Average employer contribution (family coverage): $18,805
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (single coverage): 17.6%
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (family coverage): 25.4%

4. Alaska

• Average health insurance premium (single coverage): $9,096
• Average employee contribution (single coverage): $1,571
• Average employer contribution (single coverage): $7,525
• Average health insurance premium (family coverage): $25,876
• Average employee contribution (family coverage): $5,628
• Average employer contribution (family coverage): $20,248
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (single coverage): 17.3%
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (family coverage): 21.7%

3. New York

• Average health insurance premium (single coverage): $9,173
• Average employee contribution (single coverage): $1,854
• Average employer contribution (single coverage): $7,319
• Average health insurance premium (family coverage): $26,355
• Average employee contribution (family coverage): $7,325
• Average employer contribution (family coverage): $19,030
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (single coverage): 20.2%
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (family coverage): 27.8%

2. Massachusetts

• Average health insurance premium (single coverage): $9,513
• Average employee contribution (single coverage): $2,018
• Average employer contribution (single coverage): $7,495
• Average health insurance premium (family coverage): $26,355
• Average employee contribution (family coverage): $7,597
• Average employer contribution (family coverage): $18,758
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (single coverage): 21.2%
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (family coverage): 28.8%

1. New Jersey

• Average health insurance premium (single coverage): $9,662
• Average employee contribution (single coverage): $2,057
• Average employer contribution (single coverage): $7,605
• Average health insurance premium (family coverage): $26,870
• Average employee contribution (family coverage): $7,075
• Average employer contribution (family coverage): $19,795
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (single coverage): 21.3%
• Employee share of health insurance premiums (family coverage): 26.3%

Methodology

The data used in this study is from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), an initiative under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The current annual survey covered more than 42,000 private sector establishments and was released in July 2024.

To determine the cost of employer-sponsored health plans, researchers at Take Command calculated the employee and employer contribution amounts using average premiums across single- and family-coverage plans. Unless otherwise specified, all statistics shown are averages for 2023 and represent private sector firms only.

All 50 states and select metropolitan areas tracked by MEPS were included in the analysis. Importantly, certain metropolitan areas that span multiple states are listed more than once, each with the corresponding state, due to significant differences in health insurance costs across state lines.