Ranked 14 of 17 states · median $807/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old engineer in Texas pays a median $807/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 14th of 17 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $540 from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas in Cameron. On counties covered, Texas ranks 1 of 17 for this occupation.
Coverage that only works where you sleep is not coverage if you spend the week elsewhere. The binding question is whether the plan pays out of area at all, and beyond emergencies many HMOs simply do not. States below are ordered by network reach, with the no-PPO states flagged.
Occupational context: Sedentary strain; site-visit exposure depending on discipline.
Two things get confused here constantly. Risk exposure decides what coverage you should buy. It does not decide what you are charged — Texas carriers rate on age, ZIP, tobacco and family size, full stop. A engineer 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 engineer in one Texas 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Pinto | $813 | UnitedHealthcare | $6,000 | 3 |
| Comanche | $894 | Ambetter from Superior HealthPlan | $6,000 | 3 |
| Baylor | $913 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas | $4,000 | 1 |
| Concho | $920 | Ambetter from Superior HealthPlan | $6,000 | 3 |
| Sterling | $920 | Ambetter from Superior HealthPlan | $6,000 | 3 |
| Haskell | $953 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas | $4,000 | 2 |
The spread across just these six is $140/month — $1,684 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $540 to $1,409. Coverage by County publishes all 254 Texas counties individually.
| Texas — network reach | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Counties in the state | 254 |
| Counties with only one carrier | 7 (3%) |
| Plan types available | EPO, HMO, POS |
| PPO available on exchange | No |
| Carriers filing in the state | 15 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $540 — Cameron |
Texas has no PPO plans on the exchange at all. For a engineer covering distance, that single fact outweighs premium: 7 of 254 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. 13,013 plan records across 254 Texas counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Mississippi ($773), Florida ($789), Utah ($805). More expensive: North Carolina ($828), Arkansas ($828), Nebraska ($875).
Side-by-side: Texas vs Florida · Texas vs Utah · Texas vs North Carolina · Texas vs Arkansas
Cross-state numbers are useful for understanding whether Texas is treating you well, not for arbitrage. You cannot buy an out-of-state exchange plan. If you are a engineer 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: PE licensing, software, professional dues, 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 BLS median wage for Industrial Engineers in Texas is $103,430 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $62,080. The middle half earn $81,460 to $131,520, and the top 10% more than $166,370. BLS counts about 29,620 people doing this work for an employer in Texas. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.
The cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old in Texas is $540 per month from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, with a state median of $807. Both figures are full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
No. Under the ACA, carriers cannot rate, decline, or exclude based on occupation or health history. Rates vary only by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size.
No. Only EPO and HMO and POS plans were filed for 2026.
Texas ranks 14 of 17 states covered here, at a median $807 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 2027 and pays the full premium.
This occupation is above the cliff in all 23 states reported.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Industrial Engineers (SOC 17-2112) in Texas. 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 engineer. 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 2027 the 400% FPL limit applies again, so household income above $63,840 ends premium tax credit eligibility outright.
This page compares states. For Texas specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Engineers in Texas 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 15 carriers writing in Texas today. Every an engineer on a Cigna plan is moving, and doing nothing just means the marketplace chooses the replacement.
On price the only honest number today is national: the Peterson-KFF read of 2027 filings puts the median proposed rise near 15%, spanning −1% to 54%. Final Texas rates are not approved, so any precise 2027 figure quoted for this state is guesswork.
Mark November 1, 2026 to open and December 15 to act. That second date guarantees cover from January 1 in Texas regardless of how the current litigation over the enrollment window resolves.
There is still no PPO on the Texas marketplace — not in any of its 254 counties. Every plan is an HMO, EPO or POS, which for an engineer working across a wide area is the binding constraint, not price.
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 now than in the second week of December.
Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will tell you three things:
Coverage for Engineers is priced county by county across Texas. Enter your ZIP and a licensed agent will show you what is on the table.
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