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 $687 — a difference of $51/month (8%) before subsidies.
| South Carolina | Wisconsin | |
|---|---|---|
| Median Silver @40 | $636 | $687 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $456 | $526 |
| Most expensive county @40 | $931 | $1,062 |
| Age 27 | $374 | $431 |
| Age 60 | $968 | $1,116 |
| Carriers | 6 | 12 |
| Counties | 46 | 72 |
| 1-carrier counties | 0 | 1 |
| Plan types | EPO, HMO, POS, PPO | EPO, HMO, POS, PPO |
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 Wisconsin. There is also a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment periods.
Put your ZIP code in and I 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 me — not a call center.
Moving permanently from South Carolina to Wisconsin is a qualifying life event, so you get a 60-day special enrollment window counted from the move date — time enough to work through the 12 carriers filing in Wisconsin without waiting for open enrollment. Two conditions trip people up: you generally need to have held qualifying coverage for at least one day in the 60 days before the move, and relocating purely for treatment or a holiday will not qualify.
Your plan will not come with you. Marketplace coverage is sold state by state, so the South Carolina policy ends and a Wisconsin application begins — new network, new premium, even if the name on the card stays the same.
Of the 6 carriers in South Carolina and 12 in Wisconsin, UnitedHealthcare appears in both. That overlap is worth knowing if continuity of insurer matters to you, though the plan itself is new either way.
PPO coverage is patchy: 46 of 46 South Carolina counties and 15 of 72 in Wisconsin. Because the PPO is the type most likely to pay out of network, whether one is sold in your particular county matters more here than either state average.
Only one of the two can be your plan state. Marketplace eligibility runs on primary residence, so if you file from South Carolina the Wisconsin care is the out-of-network half, and the reverse if you file from Wisconsin.
State averages hide enormous county-level spread. Whichever of South Carolina or Wisconsin you are in, your ZIP is what sets your premium.