Head-to-head, from CMS Plan Year 2026 data.
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Wisconsin is the cheaper of the two: a 40-year-old pays about $687/month for the median Silver plan, versus $828 — a difference of $141/month (21%) before subsidies.
| Wisconsin | North Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| Median Silver @40 | $687 | $828 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $526 | $540 |
| Most expensive county @40 | $1,062 | $1,128 |
| Age 27 | $431 | $443 |
| Age 60 | $1,116 | $1,147 |
| Carriers | 12 | 6 |
| Counties | 72 | 100 |
| 1-carrier counties | 1 | 0 |
| 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: Wisconsin or North Carolina. 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 Wisconsin to North Carolina 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 6 carriers filing in North Carolina 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.
Coverage does not port across the state line. Ending in Wisconsin and starting in North Carolina is two separate transactions, and the plan you end up with in North Carolina is priced on its own county, not on what you paid before.
Of the 12 carriers in Wisconsin and 6 in North Carolina, 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: 15 of 72 Wisconsin counties and 90 of 100 in North Carolina. 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 Wisconsin the North Carolina care is the out-of-network half, and the reverse if you file from North Carolina.
Neither Wisconsin nor North Carolina has one price. Give me a ZIP and I will pull the plans in that county and work out what help you qualify for.