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 $807 — a difference of $120/month (17%) before subsidies.
| Wisconsin | Texas | |
|---|---|---|
| Median Silver @40 | $687 | $807 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $526 | $540 |
| Most expensive county @40 | $1,062 | $1,409 |
| Age 27 | $431 | $443 |
| Age 60 | $1,116 | $1,146 |
| Carriers | 12 | 15 |
| Counties | 72 | 254 |
| 1-carrier counties | 1 | 7 |
| Plan types | EPO, HMO, POS, PPO | EPO, HMO, POS |
Network note: Texas has no PPO plans in 2026 while Wisconsin 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: Wisconsin 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 | Wisconsin | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace benchmark Silver, full price | $840 | $852 |
| Tax credit | none | none |
| You pay for the benchmark plan | $840 | $852 |
| Private plan estimate (low end: no deductible) | $350–$500 | $375–$475 |
At 45 on $85,000, the benchmark plan costs $144 a year more in Texas than in Wisconsin, 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.
Moving permanently from Wisconsin to Texas 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 15 carriers filing in Texas 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 Texas is two separate transactions, and the plan you end up with in Texas is priced on its own county, not on what you paid before.
UnitedHealthcare writes on both sides of the line — Wisconsin fields 12 carriers in total, Texas fields 15. Keeping the same insurer smooths the admin and changes little else, since the network is rebuilt per state.
This is the asymmetry that bites. Wisconsin has PPO plans across 15 of 72 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 Wisconsin providers for anything short of an emergency.
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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin or Texas you are in, your ZIP is what sets your premium.
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