US States with the Highest Uninsured Rates

Nationally, the uninsured rate has reached a record low of 8.6%, according to CDC data. At the state and city levels, however, uninsured rates vary widely.

WalletHub analysts recently conducted 2 polls to compare the uninsured rates across all 50 states, as well as 548 US cities. Each area’s health insurance rate was further broken down into 3 dimensions: age, income level, and race/ethnicity.

Based on those metrics, the states with the lowest uninsured rates are:

1. Massachusetts (2.82%)

2. Vermont (3.82%)

3. Hawaii (3.97%)

4. Minnesota (4.51%)

5. Iowa (5.03%)

6. Wisconsin (5.66%)

7. Rhode Island (5.71%)

8. Delaware (5.85%)

9. Connecticut (5.95)

10. West Virginia (5.95%)

In contrast, the states with the highest uninsured rates are:

41. Wyoming (11.53%)

42. Montana (11.65%)

43. Louisiana (11.95%)

44. Nevada (12.28%)

45. Mississippi (12.69%)

46. Florida (13.33%)

47. Georgia (13.85%)

48. Oklahoma (13.90%)

49. Alaska (14.86%)

Similarly, the cities with the lowest uninsured rates are:

1. Pleasanton, CA (1.17%)

2. Cambridge, MA (1.30%)

3. Naperville, IL (1.44%)

4. Highlands Ranch, CO (1.45%)

5. Newton, MA (1.47%)

6. Fishers, IN (1.57%)

7. Quincy, MA (1.62%)

8. Milpitas, CA (1.98%)

9. Alameda, CA (2.20%)

10. Waldorf, MD (2.33%)

Meanwhile, the cities with the highest uninsured rates are:

539. Mesquite, TX (23.88%)

540. Pasadena, TX (24.64%)

541. Mission, TX (24.75%)

542. Edinburg, TX (24.76%)

543. McAllen, TX (25.05%)

544. Elizabeth, NJ (25.66%)

545. Laredo, TX (26.01%)

546. Union City, NJ (26.41%)

547. Brownsville, TX (29.36%)

548. Pharr, TX (33.68%)

Methodology

Data used to create this ranking were collected from the US Census Bureau.

An overall rank of No. 1 corresponds with the city/state with the lowest uninsured rate. In determining the sample, WalletHub considered only the “city proper” in each case and excluded cities in the surrounding metro area. Each city was then categorized each city according to the following population sizes:

● Large cities: More than 300,000 individuals

● Midsize cities: 100,000 to 300,000 individuals

● Small cities: Fewer than 100,000 individuals

Health Insurance Rate by Age Group

● Health Insurance Rate for Children (0 to 17 years)

● Health Insurance Rate for Adults (18 years and older)

Health Insurance Rate by Race/Ethnicity

● Health Insurance Rate for Whites

● Health Insurance Rate for Black or African Americans

● Health Insurance Rate for Hispanic or Latino

Health Insurance Rate by Household Income

● Health Insurance Rate for Lower-Income Households ($50,000 or less)

● Health Insurance Rate for Higher-Income Households ($100,000 or more)