Nail Technicians Health Insurance in South Carolina (2026)

Wage benchmark and the 2026 subsidy cliff

$25,980median annual wage, Nail Technicians in South Carolina

166%of the federal poverty level

$62,6002026 subsidy cliff, single-person household

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 Manicurists and Pedicurists (SOC 39-5092) in South 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 nail technician. 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.

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. State-level annual median wage (A_MEDIAN), detailed occupation. https://www.bls.gov/oes/. Retrieved 2026-08-03. Figures used unmodified; suppressed cells are omitted, not estimated.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines. 90 FR 5917, 17 January 2025. https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines. Retrieved 2026-08-03. The 2025 guidelines govern premium tax credit eligibility for plan year 2026 coverage. The 2026 guidelines apply to 2027 coverage.
Full dataset for all occupations and states: CSV · JSON (CC BY 4.0).

All 21 states

Benchmark premium and median wage for this occupation, ranked by premium.

#	State	Benchmark @40	Median wage	vs cliff
1	Maryland	$414	$36,380	below
2	Virginia	$455	$36,970	below
3	Indiana	$474	$33,090	below
4	Nevada	$497	$35,340	below
5	Ohio	$513	$35,900	below
6	Michigan	$523	$34,920	below
7	Colorado	$557	$37,800	below
8	South Carolina	$564	$25,980	below
9	Oklahoma	$604	$29,560	below
10	Wisconsin	$611	$34,180	below
11	Georgia	$615	$26,500	below
12	North Carolina	$638	$34,810	below
13	Utah	$640	$38,390	below
14	Alabama	$645	$27,980	below
15	Illinois	$646	$34,520	below
16	South Dakota	$655	$40,210	below
17	Texas	$661	$36,900	below
18	Kansas	$670	$30,650	below
19	Florida	$683	$32,370	below
20	Nebraska	$710	$36,560	below
21	Arkansas	$774	$27,780	below

Questions

Does being a nail technician change what health insurance costs in South Carolina?

No. Under the ACA carriers may not rate, decline, or exclude based on occupation or health history. Premiums vary only by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size, so the benchmark of $564 a month applies regardless of trade.

Do nail technicians qualify for a subsidy in South Carolina in 2026?

Premium tax credit eligibility depends on household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not occupation. For reference, the BLS median wage for Manicurists and Pedicurists in South Carolina is $25,980, which is below the 2026 cliff of $62,600 for a single-person household. Your own income and household size decide the answer.

What is the benchmark premium in South Carolina for 2026?

$564 a month for a 40-year-old, ranking 8 of 21 states published here. That is full price before any premium tax credit.

Where do these numbers come from?

Premiums come from the CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file and published state rate approvals. Wages come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. Both are reproduced unmodified; the full wage dataset is downloadable as CSV or JSON.

Going deeper on South Carolina

This page compares states. For South Carolina specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — that is published on Coverage by County. To check whether a plan actually covers your hospital, see Plans By City.

← Nail Technicians in all states · All trades · All occupations

South Carolina Nail Technicians: what 2027 actually changes

The South Carolina market currently runs to 6 carriers over 46 counties. Carriers re-file every year, and for Nail Technicians the question that actually decides your renewal is which of them are still there in November.

Nobody can tell you your 2027 South 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.

Enrollment opens November 1, 2026. Treat December 15 as the deadline: it guarantees January 1 cover on every marketplace, South Carolina 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.

In your favour: PPOs are sold in all 46 South Carolina counties. That is the type most likely to pay toward out-of-network care, and worth defending at renewal if your work as a nail technician takes you around.

A head start beats a scramble

Nothing about 2027 is urgent yet, which is exactly why it is worth ten minutes now. Come November you will be choosing between South Carolina’s carriers under a deadline; today you can do it without one.

Give me a ZIP and I will tell you three things:

Whether your current plan and carrier are still writing in your county for 2027
What your income estimate should realistically be — the number your credit is calculated from, and the one nail technicians most often get wrong
Whether the doctors you actually use are in the 2027 network, before you are locked in

Map my 2027 options →

What health insurance actually costs for Nail Technicians in South Carolina

Coverage for Nail Technicians is priced county by county across South Carolina. Enter your ZIP and I will show you what is on the table.

One field. No account, no phone call unless you ask for one.

Nail Technicians Health Insurance in South Carolina