Census Bureau Stats: Health Insurance Coverage Increased in Over Half of U.S. States in 2022

Twenty-seven states had a higher percentage of people with health insurance coverage in 2022 than in 2021 according to American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates released recently by the U.S. Census Bureau. In terms of uninsured rates, or the rate of people without health insurance, Maine was the only state where the uninsured rate increased (up to 6.6% in 2022, from 5.7%).

“The changes in uninsured rates are impacted by multiple factors including the demographic makeup of a population and the economy. In 2022, we saw the uninsured rate decrease with the driving force differing by state,” said David Waddington, chief of the Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division at the Census Bureau. “For seven of the states with lower uninsured rates in 2022, the difference was driven by increased private coverage. For 10 states, the uninsured rate decrease was related to increased public coverage. In three particular states —Missouri, New York, and Virginia — the decline in the uninsured rate was a result of increases in public coverage that outweighed decreases in private coverage.”

State-level uninsured rates ranged from 2.4% (Massachusetts) to 16.6% (Texas) in 2022. The District of Columbia was among the lowest with an uninsured rate of 2.9%, not statistically different from Massachusetts. 

Additional health insurance highlights include:

• Utah and North Dakota had the highest (78.4%) and New Mexico the lowest (54.4%) rates of private coverage in 2022, compared with the national average of 67.2%.
• Nine states experienced an increase in private health insurance coverage (Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas) and seven states (Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, and Virginia) a decrease in private coverage from 2021 to 2022.
• Utah had the lowest (22.2%) rate of public coverage in 2022, and New Mexico the highest (51.2%), compared with the national average of 37.2%.
• Between 2021 and 2022, the rate of public coverage increased in 13 states (Alabama, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) and decreased in one (Rhode Island). Oklahoma had one of the highest increases in public coverage (up 2.3 percentage points) from 2021 to 2022.

Additional statistics on health insurance coverage can be found in the report, Health Insurance Coverage Status and Type by Geography: 2021 and 2022.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE RELEASE
Income

• Median household income in the United States was $74,755 in 2022, a decline of 0.8% from last year after adjusting for inflation.
• Median household income increased in five states (Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Florida, and Utah) and decreased in seventeen states (Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin) since last year. Twenty-eight states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico showed no statistically significant differences.
• New Jersey had one of the highest median household incomes of all states at $96,346. The District of Columbia’s median household income ($101,027) was the highest in the nation. Mississippi had the lowest median household income ($52,719) of any state. Median household income for Puerto Rico was $24,112.
• Income inequality in the United States measured by the Gini Index increased between 2021 and 2022.

Poverty

• The poverty rate declined in nine states (Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, and South Carolina) and the District of Columbia from 2021 to 2022. The District of Columbia had among the highest rates of change with a 3.1 percentage point decline. The poverty rate did not increase in any state.
• The poverty rate for children (below age 18) decreased in 11 states (Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania) and the District of Columbia from 2021 to 2022. The child poverty rate increased in one state (West Virginia) and Puerto Rico.
• The poverty rate for those age 65 and over increased in 19 states (Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming) and Puerto Rico from 2021 to 2022. Montana had among the highest increases for states (3.7 percentage points). The poverty rate for those age 65 and over did not decrease in any state.
• From 2021 to 2022, the percentage of households that received Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP)/food stamp benefits decreased in 11 states (Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington) and increased in eight states (California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, and Virginia). Utah (5.2%) and Wyoming (5.6%) had among the lowest percentage of people that received SNAP benefits in 2022, though they were not significantly different from each other, while New Mexico had the highest among states at 19.4%.

Field of Degree

• Among adults ages 25-64 with a bachelor’s degree or higher, median earnings of men were higher than those of women within the same field of degree. Median annual earnings were about $25,000 higher for men than women among those with physical and related sciences, business degrees, and in the social sciences. Median earnings of men were $12,000 higher than women in education fields.
• Among all people with a bachelor’s degree or higher, engineering degree holders had the highest ($106,736) and visual and performing arts degree holders the lowest ($54,765) annual median earnings in 2022.

Additional Annual Releases
The Census Bureau is set to release additional ACS statistics over the next few months, including 2022 ACS 1-year supplemental estimates and 2018-2022 ACS 5-year estimates. For more information on ACS topics, ranging from educational attainment to computer use, visit the Subjects Included in the Survey webpage. Visit data.census.gov to access all statistics released today.

These statistics would not be possible without ACS respondents throughout the country.