Head-to-head, from CMS Plan Year 2026 data.
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South Carolina is the cheaper of the two: a 40-year-old pays about $636/month for the median Silver plan, versus $807 — a difference of $171/month (27%) before subsidies.
| South Carolina | Texas | |
|---|---|---|
| Median Silver @40 | $636 | $807 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $456 | $540 |
| Most expensive county @40 | $931 | $1,409 |
| Age 27 | $374 | $443 |
| Age 60 | $968 | $1,146 |
| Carriers | 6 | 15 |
| Counties | 46 | 254 |
| 1-carrier counties | 0 | 7 |
| Plan types | EPO, HMO, POS, PPO | EPO, HMO, POS |
Network note: Texas has no PPO plans in 2026 while South Carolina does.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits; not a quote or an offer of coverage.
This page sets two states against each other. For county-by-county carriers, plan data and help actually enrolling, I publish a page for each state on Coverage by County: South Carolina or Texas. There is also a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment periods.
Change the age or income and both states recalculate: the 2027 marketplace price after any tax credit, and the private plan estimate.
| Monthly, age 45, $85,000 | South Carolina | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace benchmark Silver, full price | $778 | $852 |
| Tax credit | none | none |
| You pay for the benchmark plan | $778 | $852 |
| Private plan estimate (low end: no deductible) | $350–$505 | $375–$475 |
At 45 on $85,000, the benchmark plan costs $889 a year more in Texas than in South Carolina, at full price in both, since that income is over the tax-credit line.
2027 estimates: KFF 2026 benchmark raised by each state’s average 2027 change, on the federal age curve; 2027 tax credit rules. Your county will differ. Every state at once: what you would pay in each state.
Put your ZIP code in and a licensed agent will show you the carriers filing in your county, what the cheapest plan costs, and what you would actually pay after any help you qualify for. No cost, and you talk to a licensed agent — not a call center.
Relocating between South Carolina and Texas counts as a qualifying life event. That buys a 60-day special enrollment period, dated from the move, to choose among Texas’s 15 filing carriers. Two conditions apply: at least one day of qualifying coverage during the 60 days beforehand, and the move cannot be purely for medical treatment or a holiday.
Your plan will not come with you. Marketplace coverage is sold state by state, so the South Carolina policy ends and a Texas application begins — new network, new premium, even if the name on the card stays the same.
Of the 6 carriers in South Carolina and 15 in Texas, Molina Healthcare and UnitedHealthcare appear in both. That overlap is worth knowing if continuity of insurer matters to you, though the plan itself is new either way.
The plan types do not match up. PPOs cover all 46 counties in South Carolina and zero of the 254 in Texas. Since the PPO is the one type that reliably pays out of network, moving into Texas narrows where you can be seen rather than just changing what you pay.
Splitting the year does not mean splitting the coverage. You can hold a marketplace plan only in your state of primary residence — the address you file from — not one in South Carolina and another in Texas. The cost lands on care received in whichever of the two you did not choose.
State averages hide enormous county-level spread. Whichever of South Carolina or Texas you are in, your ZIP is what sets your premium.
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