Family health plans cost 30% of median income

Column chart, average total family health insurance premium per enrolled employee, private sector (employer plus employee share), with the premium as % of median household income under each year: 1999 $6,058 (14.9%); 2002 $8,469 (20.0%); 2005 $10,728 (23.2%); 2008 $12,298 (24.4%); 2011 $15,022 (30.0%); 2014 $16,655 (31.0%); 2017 $18,687 (30.6%); 2020 $20,758 (30.5%); 2023 $23,938 (29.7%); 2025 $26,281 (30.0%). 1999 to 2025: premium +333.8%, median household income +114.9%. Headline: Family health plans cost 30% of median income. No MEPS-IC survey in 2007. Series: AHRQ MEPS-IC private-sector national table I.D.1, MEPS-IC private-sector national estimates; Census CPS ASEC Table H-5, median household income, all races, current dollars.

1999 to 2025: premium +333.8% vs median household income +114.9%. The 2025 family premium, $26,281, is 30.0% of median household income. Where Census Table H-5 lists a year twice (method changes), we use its newer-method row.

Source: AHRQ Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, Insurance Component (MEPS-IC), private sector, national, table I.D.1: average total family premium per enrolled employee at private-sector establishments that offer health insurance, United States, all firm sizes; 2025 estimates released July 2026, AHRQ Data Tools export (datatools.ahrq.gov/meps-ic). Census Current Population Survey, 2026 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, Table H-5, median household income, All Races, current dollars (www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/tables/time-series/historical-income-households/h05.xlsx) · retrieved Oct 27, 2026

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