Ranked 11 of 15 states · median $805/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old hair stylist in Utah pays a median $805/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 11th of 15 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $559 from Select Health in Davis. On median Silver premium, Utah ranks 11 of 15 for this occupation.
Patient-facing and standing work means steady, predictable utilization — regular visits, prescriptions, physical therapy. Copay structure and network breadth drive real annual cost more than the headline premium, so these pages rank states on median premium and carrier count together.
Occupational context: Chemical exposure; prolonged standing; shoulder and wrist strain.
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 hair stylist 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 hair stylist 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emery | $798 | Select Health | $6,000 | 4 |
| San Juan | $798 | Select Health | $6,000 | 2 |
| Davis | $559 | Select Health | $5,900 | 4 |
| Box Elder | $602 | Select Health | $5,900 | 4 |
| Duchesne | $798 | Select Health | $6,000 | 4 |
| Piute | $798 | Select Health | $6,000 | 2 |
The spread across just these six is $239/month — $2,865 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 — network and cost | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Median Silver premium @40 | $805 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $559 — Select Health (Davis) |
| Most expensive Silver @40 | $1,125 |
| Carriers filing in the state | 6 — BridgeSpan Health, Imperial Health Plan of the Southwest, Molina Healthcare, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah |
| Plan types available | EPO, HMO |
| Counties with only one carrier | 1 of 29 |
Utah has 6 carriers filing and 1 of 29 counties served by a single issuer. For a hair stylist with an established provider relationship, that carrier count is the number that decides whether you keep your doctor.
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: Oklahoma ($731), Kansas ($765), Florida ($789). More expensive: Texas ($807), North Carolina ($828), Arkansas ($828).
Side-by-side: Utah vs Kansas · Utah vs Florida · Utah vs Texas · Utah vs North Carolina
Read the comparison as context, not as a shopping list. Your county of residence determines what you can buy, and for a hair stylist that is fixed unless you relocate. Where it is actionable is a move already in progress — that is a qualifying life event, and you have 60 days on either side of it.
Expense categories that typically apply to this trade: Chair rental, products, shears, licensing. 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 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. Utah exchange plans are guaranteed issue and community rated, so a hair stylist pays exactly what anyone else of the same age in the same ZIP pays. Occupation is not on the application as a rating factor.
No. Only EPO and HMO plans were filed for 2026.
Utah ranks 11 of 15 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 2026.
This occupation is below the cliff in all 21 states reported.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists (SOC 39-5012) 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 hair stylist. 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 Utah specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Hair Stylists 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 Hair Stylists should check the roster in November rather than assume this year’s options carry over.
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 Utah rates are not approved, so any precise 2027 figure quoted for this state is guesswork.
Enrollment opens November 1, 2026. Treat December 15 as the deadline: it guarantees January 1 cover on every marketplace, Utah included. Conflicting end dates get quoted because a 2025 rule shortened the window and a court vacated it in June 2026, appeal pending — enrol by the 15th and the argument is irrelevant to you.
There is still no PPO on the Utah marketplace — not in any of its 29 counties. Every plan is an HMO, EPO or POS, which for a hair stylist working across a wide area is the binding constraint, not price.
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.
Give me a ZIP and I will tell you three things:
Most Hair Stylists here are buying their own coverage without an employer. One ZIP is all I need to show you what is available in your part of Utah.