Head-to-head, from CMS Plan Year 2026 data.
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Texas is the cheaper of the two: a 40-year-old pays about $807/month for the median Silver plan, versus $828 — a difference of $21/month (3%) before subsidies.
| Texas | Arkansas | |
|---|---|---|
| Median Silver @40 | $807 | $828 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $540 | $753 |
| Most expensive county @40 | $1,409 | $879 |
| Age 27 | $443 | $617 |
| Age 60 | $1,146 | $1,599 |
| Carriers | 15 | 4 |
| Counties | 254 | 75 |
| 1-carrier counties | 7 | 0 |
| Plan types | EPO, HMO, POS | POS, PPO |
Network note: Texas has no PPO plans in 2026 while Arkansas does. If you work across county or state lines that difference matters more than the premium gap.
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: Texas or Arkansas. 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 | Texas | Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace benchmark Silver, full price | $852 | $927 |
| Tax credit | none | none |
| You pay for the benchmark plan | $852 | $927 |
| Private plan estimate (low end: no deductible) | $375–$475 | $350–$505 |
At 45 on $85,000, the benchmark plan costs $898 a year more in Arkansas than in Texas, 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.
A Texas-to-Arkansas move triggers a 60-day special enrollment period, so the 4 carriers filing in Arkansas are open to you outside the usual window. The catch is on both ends — you normally need to have carried qualifying coverage for a day or more in the 60 days before moving, and moves made for treatment or travel are excluded.
Your plan will not come with you. Marketplace coverage is sold state by state, so the Texas policy ends and a Arkansas application begins — new network, new premium, even if the name on the card stays the same.
There is no overlap to lean on: none of Texas’s 15 carriers file in Arkansas, where 4 other insurers write instead. Changing state means changing company.
This is the asymmetry that bites. Arkansas has PPO plans across all 75 counties; Texas sells none in any of its 254. The PPO is the plan type most likely to pay outside its own network, so heading toward Texas usually costs you the ability to see Arkansas providers for anything short of an emergency.
You cannot carry one plan in Texas and a second in Arkansas. Eligibility follows primary residence, the address on your return, and everything received in the other state is normally out of network.
Neither Texas nor Arkansas has one price. Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will pull the plans in that county and work out what help you qualify for.
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