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State Health Compare

Average annual employer sponsored insurance premium

Measure Overview

Employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) is health insurance coverage offered to qualified employees by employers; ESI has historically covered the majority of the U.S. population, with 61.7% of the non-elderly population enrolled in ESI in 2024. 

As the predominant form of coverage in the U.S., changes in costs associated with ESI coverage, including premiums and deductibles, impact tens of millions of Americans. Annual employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) premiums have steadily increased over the past decade, with data from 2025 showing U.S. premiums’ rate of increase doubled for both family and single plans since 2024. Tracking the cost of average annual ESI premiums by state and nationally can help state policymakers, health plan administrators, and those looking for coverage evaluate affordability of and access to health care coverage. 

Average Annual Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Premium Cost by State: Breakdowns and Data Source


State Health Compare provides annual, state-level estimates of the average annual employer-sponsored health insurance premium cost using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component (MEPS-IC). This measure can be broken down by plan type: Single Plan and Family Plan. 

Want to learn more about differences in health insurance terminology, like premium vs deductible? SHADAC’s blog on health insurance terms provides definitions for common terminology.

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Rising Health Insurance Costs: Family Employer-Sponsored Insurance (ESI) Premiums Grow at Over Twice the Rate Seen Last Year

SHADAC has tracked trends in ESI health insurance costs for years using the latest Medical Expenditure Panel Survey–Insurance Component (MEPS-IC) data. We are continuing our coverage with this analysis of recently released 2025 MEPS data, finding that ESI family plan premiums grew at over twice the rate seen last year—read full blog for details and findings.



Brief cover page

ISSUE BRIEF—The Struggle to Afford Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance (ESI) in 2024: A 50-State Review

In the latest brief from a long-running series, SHADAC researchers use estimates from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Insurance Component (MEPS-IC), produced by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), to look at national and state-level ESI access, enrollment, and cost data in 2024 as compared to the prior year.