Ranked 13 of 15 states · median $828/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old architect in North Carolina pays a median $828/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 13th of 15 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $540 from Ambetter of North Carolina in Davidson. On counties covered, North Carolina ranks 3 of 15 for this occupation.
Once your work crosses county and state lines, network geography stops being a detail and becomes the whole decision. An HMO contracted in one metro leaves you paying cash 200 miles down the road, and a handful of states filed no PPO at all for 2026. These rankings lead with reach.
Occupational context: Site-visit fall risk; prolonged screen and drafting strain.
Two things get confused here constantly. Risk exposure decides what coverage you should buy. It does not decide what you are charged — North Carolina carriers rate on age, ZIP, tobacco and family size, full stop. A architect with a bad back and a healthy 40-year-old office worker in the same county see the same number.
Premium is set by rating area, so a architect in one North Carolina county can pay materially more than one an hour away. Six counties from across the state, cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old:
| County | Cheapest Silver @40 | Issuer | Deductible | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | $702 | Ambetter of North Carolina | $7,000 | 5 |
| Yancey | $702 | Ambetter of North Carolina | $7,000 | 5 |
| Montgomery | $758 | Ambetter of North Carolina | $7,000 | 3 |
| Bertie | $826 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC | $2,800 | 2 |
| Martin | $826 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC | $2,800 | 2 |
| Dare | $834 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC | $2,800 | 2 |
The spread across just these six is $131/month — $1,578 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $540 to $1,128. Coverage by County publishes all 100 North Carolina counties individually.
| North Carolina — network reach | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Counties in the state | 100 |
| Counties with only one carrier | 0 (0%) |
| Plan types available | EPO, HMO, POS, PPO |
| PPO available on exchange | Yes |
| Carriers filing in the state | 6 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $540 — Davidson |
North Carolina has PPO plans available. For a architect covering distance, that single fact outweighs premium: 0 of 100 counties here are served by one carrier, so an HMO bought in one metro may leave you out of network for the rest of your route.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file. 4,859 plan records across 100 North Carolina counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Florida ($789), Utah ($805), Texas ($807). More expensive: Arkansas ($828), Nebraska ($875).
Side-by-side: North Carolina vs Utah · North Carolina vs Texas · North Carolina vs Arkansas · North Carolina vs Nebraska
Cross-state numbers are useful for understanding whether North Carolina is treating you well, not for arbitrage. You cannot buy an out-of-state exchange plan. If you are a architect weighing a relocation for other reasons, the premium difference is a real line item worth putting in the decision.
Expense categories that typically apply to this trade: Licensing, CAD software, E&O insurance, site travel. Premiums are generally deductible above the line under IRC §162(l) when no employer plan is available to you or your spouse — a question for your CPA, not your agent.
If your household income is above the subsidy range, ACA is not automatically the answer. There are other categories of coverage that may fit, and they work very differently. That is a conversation, not a web page.
The cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old in North Carolina is $540 per month from Ambetter of North Carolina, with a state median of $828. Both figures are full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
No. North Carolina exchange plans are guaranteed issue and community rated, so a architect pays exactly what anyone else of the same age in the same ZIP pays. Occupation is not on the application as a rating factor.
Yes. Plan types filed for 2026: EPO, HMO, POS, PPO.
North Carolina ranks 13 of 15 states covered here, at a median $828 per month. Indiana is cheapest at $558 and Nebraska is most expensive at $875.
Above the cliff. At this income a single-person household receives no premium tax credit for 2026 and pays the full premium.
This occupation is above the cliff in all 21 states reported.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Architects, Except Landscape and Naval (SOC 17-1011) in North Carolina. BLS surveys wage and salary workers and excludes the self-employed, so it is a benchmark for the occupation in this state — not the income of a self-employed architect. Premium tax credit eligibility is set by household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not by occupation, so treat this as a reference point rather than a determination of what you qualify for.
Why the cliff is back. The enhanced premium tax credits expired on 31 December 2025. For plan year 2026 the 400% FPL limit applies again, so household income above $62,600 ends premium tax credit eligibility outright.
This page compares states. For North Carolina specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Architects in North Carolina and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
The biggest change here is a carrier walking away. Cigna leaves the ACA individual market on January 1, 2027 — one of the 6 carriers writing in North Carolina today. Every an architect on a Cigna plan is moving, and doing nothing just means the marketplace chooses the replacement.
Nobody can tell you your 2027 North Carolina premium yet. Filings nationally cluster around a 15% median increase, with the full spread running −1% to 54% — and until this state signs off, a specific local number is invention.
Mark November 1, 2026 to open and December 15 to act. That second date guarantees cover from January 1 in North Carolina regardless of how the current litigation over the enrollment window resolves.
PPO availability is patchy here: 90 of 100 North Carolina counties. For Architects the county you are rated in, not the state, decides whether out-of-area care is paid for.
You already know you are changing plans — Cigna is leaving. The only real question is whether you pick the replacement or the marketplace picks it for you, and that is a much easier decision made in August than in the second week of December.
Give me a ZIP and I will tell you three things:
Coverage for Architects is priced county by county across North Carolina. Enter your ZIP and I will show you what is on the table.