Ranked 13 of 17 states · median $805/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old flooring contractor in Utah pays a median $805/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 13th of 17 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $559 from Select Health in Davis. On highest out-of-pocket maximum, Utah ranks 14 of 17 for this occupation.
Trade work concentrates cost into rare, expensive events rather than spreading it across the year. That inverts the usual shopping logic: a lower premium with a $9,200 ceiling is a worse deal than a higher premium with a $6,000 one, because the ceiling is what you actually hit. These rankings follow the ceiling.
Occupational context: Knee and back injury; adhesive and dust inhalation.
Worth being clear about what this does and does not affect: a carrier in Utah cannot ask what you do for a living, cannot charge a flooring contractor more than a librarian of the same age in the same ZIP, and cannot exclude anything you were already treated for. Occupation only tells you which plan structure to shop for.
Premium is set by rating area, so a flooring contractor in one Utah 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Millard | $798 | Select Health | $6,000 | 2 |
| Iron | $885 | Select Health | $6,000 | 3 |
| Utah | $576 | Select Health | $5,900 | 5 |
| Carbon | $798 | Select Health | $6,000 | 4 |
| Kane | $798 | Select Health | $6,000 | 2 |
| Wayne | $798 | Select Health | $6,000 | 2 |
The spread across just these six is $309/month — $3,704 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $559 to $1,125. Coverage by County publishes all 29 Utah counties individually.
| Utah — worst-case exposure | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Lowest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $5,200 |
| Highest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $10,600 |
| Cheapest Gold plan @40 | $646 — Select Health |
| Gold deductible | $0 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $559 — Select Health |
| Cheapest Silver @50 | $804 |
For a flooring contractor, the gap between $5,200 and $10,600 in annual out-of-pocket maximum is worth more than any premium difference on this page. One serious injury reaches that ceiling regardless of which plan you picked.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file. 699 plan records across 29 Utah counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Tennessee ($773), Mississippi ($773), Florida ($789). More expensive: Texas ($807), North Carolina ($828), Arkansas ($828).
Side-by-side: Utah vs Mississippi · Utah vs Florida · Utah vs Texas · Utah vs North Carolina
This only matters if you can actually choose — you buy in the state where you live, not where you work. If you are a flooring contractor who moved this year, that move is a qualifying life event and opens a special enrollment period.
If you file a Schedule C as a flooring contractor, the categories that usually show up are: Tools, van, materials, knee protection, liability insurance. The health premium itself is normally an above-the-line deduction under IRC §162(l), which reduces AGI rather than requiring you to itemize. Your CPA should confirm it against your actual situation.
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 Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles in Utah is $43,930 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $31,730. The middle half earn $35,450 to $52,170, and the top 10% more than $73,470. BLS counts about 260 people doing this work for an employer in Utah. 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 Utah is $559 per month from Select Health, with a state median of $805. 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 plans were filed for 2026.
Utah ranks 13 of 17 states covered here, at a median $805 per month. Indiana is cheapest at $558 and Nebraska is most expensive at $875.
Below the cliff. At this income a single-person household remains eligible for a premium tax credit in 2027.
This occupation sits above the cliff in 1 of the 23 states reported and below it in the other 22, so the answer changes with the state.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles (SOC 47-2042) in Utah. 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 flooring contractor. 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 Utah specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Flooring Contractors in Utah and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
Right now 6 carriers file plans across the 29 counties of Utah. Participation is reset annually, which is why Flooring Contractors should check the roster in November rather than assume this year’s options carry over.
Nobody can tell you your 2027 Utah 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.
The window opens November 1, 2026, and December 15 is the date worth writing down — it is what secures January 1 cover in Utah and everywhere else. You will find later dates quoted; they stem from a 2025 rule that was vacated in June 2026 and is under appeal.
One thing 2027 will not fix: no PPO is sold anywhere in Utah. All 29 counties offer HMO, EPO or POS only, so care outside the network is effectively emergency-only. If your work as a flooring contractor crosses county lines, weigh that above the premium.
Because Utah sells no PPO in any of its 29 counties, the thing that will decide your 2027 experience is which network your providers sit in — and that is far easier to check now than during the rush.
Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will tell you three things:
The sticker price is rarely what Flooring Contractors in Utah end up paying. Start with a ZIP and a licensed agent will work out your actual number.
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