Quick answer
The headline employer health insurance statistics come from the KFF 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey. The average annual premium is $28,303 for family coverage and $9,804 for single coverage in 2026, both up 5% from 2025. Workers pay $7,471 of the family premium on average, and workers at smaller firms pay more.
Employer health insurance statistics start with one number: the average family premium hit $28,303 in 2026, according to the KFF 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey, published October 22, 2026. Employers cover most of that, but workers still contribute $7,471 a year. This page pulls together the latest figures from KFF, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Census Bureau, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the IRS, each with its reference period and a link to the original.
Average health insurance premium in 2026
KFF surveys non-federal public and private firms with 10 or more workers each year. The 2026 survey includes 1,937 interviews. Premiums are the total cost of coverage, employer and worker shares combined.
- The average annual premium is $9,804 for single coverage and $28,303 for family coverage in 2026.
- Both rose 5% from 2025. Over the same year, KFF reports workers' wages grew 3.7% and inflation was 2.7%.
- Single premiums are close across firm sizes: $9,593 at smaller firms (10 to 199 workers) and $9,865 at larger firms (200 or more).
- Family premiums are $27,288 at smaller firms and $28,592 at larger firms.
- Workzenly calculation: a family premium now equals about $2,359 a month per enrolled family.
AHRQ's Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, Insurance Component (MEPS-IC), which samples private-sector establishments of all sizes, reported lower averages for 2024: $8,486 single, $16,931 employee-plus-one and $24,540 family (AHRQ Research Findings #54). The gap reflects different years and samples, so compare each source only with itself over time.
What this means for employers: Plan on premiums growing faster than wages. A 5% renewal increase on a $28,303 family plan adds about $1,415 a year per family enrollee (Workzenly calculation), before any change in how you split the cost.
Health insurance cost per employee: who pays what
The cost per employee depends on the tier the employee picks and the share the employer pays. KFF figures are for 2026; BLS figures are from the National Compensation Survey for March 2026, released September 25, 2026.
- Workers contribute an average of $1,672 a year for single coverage and $7,471 for family coverage (KFF).
- That is 18% of the single premium and 27% of the family premium.
- Workzenly calculation: the employer share averages about $8,132 for single coverage and $20,832 for family coverage.
- BLS reports that private employers paid 80% of the single premium and 69% of the family premium for participating workers in March 2026 (Table 3, Table 4).
- For family coverage, the employee share was 36% at establishments with 1 to 49 workers and 25% at those with 500 or more.
- Union workers paid 19% of the family premium; nonunion workers paid 33%.
- Workers in the lowest 25% of wages paid 37% of the family premium, versus 28% for the highest 25%.
KFF and BLS give slightly different splits (27% vs 31% employee share for family coverage) because they survey different units, firms versus establishments, at different times of year.
What this means for employers: The worker's share comes out of every paycheck, usually pre-tax under a cafeteria plan. Get the per-period amount and its tax treatment right; our guides to payroll deductions and gross pay vs net pay show where premium deductions sit on a stub.
Employer sponsored health insurance statistics by firm size
Firm size is the biggest divide in employer coverage. KFF defines smaller firms as 10 to 199 workers and larger firms as 200 or more. From 2025, KFF no longer samples firms with 3 to 9 workers, so its offer rates start at 10 workers.
- 67% of firms with 10 or more workers offer health benefits in 2026, up from 61% in 2025.
- 98% of firms with 200 or more workers offer health benefits to at least some workers.
- At smaller firms, the average family contribution is $9,687, versus $6,840 at larger firms. Workzenly calculation: about 1.4 times as much.
- 32% of covered workers at smaller firms are in a plan where they pay more than half the family premium, compared with 6% at larger firms.
- BLS: 55% of private workers at establishments with 1 to 49 workers had access to medical plans in March 2026, versus 90% at establishments with 500 or more.
| KFF 2026 | Smaller firms (10 to 199) | Larger firms (200+) | All firms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single premium | $9,593 | $9,865 | $9,804 |
| Family premium | $27,288 | $28,592 | $28,303 |
| Worker family contribution | $9,687 | $6,840 | $7,471 |
| Average single deductible | $2,624 | $1,772 | $1,955 |
| Covered workers in self-funded plans | 25% | 85% | 71% |
Source: KFF, 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey. Deductibles are among covered workers in a plan with a general annual deductible.
AHRQ's MEPS-IC shows the same pattern for 2024 using a cutoff of 50 employees. Only 50.5% of private-sector employees at firms with fewer than 50 employees worked where insurance was offered, versus 97.4% at firms with 50 or more. Small-firm employees paid $7,984 toward family coverage, versus $7,107 at larger firms.
What this means for employers: If you run a small team, you compete for staff with employers who pay three-quarters of the family premium. Your contribution split is a recruiting lever, and so is offering coverage at all. Our employee benefits statistics put health coverage next to retirement and paid leave.
Who has employer coverage
Access means the employer offers a plan the worker could join; participation means the worker enrolled; take-up is participants divided by those with access. These are BLS figures for private industry, March 2026, from Table 2.
- 71% of private industry workers had access to medical care plans, 46% participated and the take-up rate was 65%.
- Full-time workers: 87% access. Part-time workers: 23% access, with a 47% take-up rate.
- Workers in the lowest 25% of wages: 39% access. Highest 25%: 94%.
- Goods-producing industries: 86% access. Service-providing: 68%.
- State and local government workers: 89% access and 67% participation.
- KFF: in firms that offer benefits, 80% of workers are eligible, 74% of eligible workers take up coverage and 59% of all workers are covered by their own firm's plan.
- Census: 53.5% of people had employment-based coverage for some or all of 2025, the most common type, ahead of Medicare (20.1%) and Medicaid (17.1%). 26.7 million people, or 7.9%, were uninsured for the entire year (Census P60-291, Sept 15, 2026).
Take-up rates differ by source: 65% (BLS, March 2026), 74% (KFF, 2026) and 69.0% (MEPS-IC, 2024). Each uses a different sample and defines eligible workers differently.
What this means for employers: Hourly and part-time staff are the least likely to be offered coverage and the least likely to enroll when they are. In industries like restaurants and retail, track who is eligible by hours worked, because eligibility often depends on it.
Deductibles and plan types
Premiums are only part of what workers pay. KFF 2026 figures:
- 88% of covered workers are in a plan with a general annual deductible for single coverage.
- Among them, the average single deductible is $1,955, similar to 2025. It has risen 18% over five years and 34% over 10 years.
- 55% of covered workers at smaller firms have a single deductible of $2,000 or more, versus 33% at larger firms.
- PPOs enroll 50% of covered workers, HSA-qualified plans 29%, HMOs 12% and POS plans 8%.
- 71% of covered workers are in a self-funded plan, similar to 67% in 2025.
- 18% of firms with 200 or more workers cover GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, similar to 19% in 2025.
- The ACA caps 2026 out-of-pocket maximums at $10,600 for single coverage. 24% of covered workers with a single out-of-pocket maximum have one above $6,000.
What this means for employers: A low premium contribution can hide a high deductible. When you compare plans at renewal, look at the deductible and out-of-pocket maximum workers will face, not only the payroll deduction.
Premium growth over time
KFF tracks family premiums by firm size each year. Changes below are Workzenly calculations from KFF's published averages.
| Average family premium | 2016 | 2021 | 2026 | Change 2016 to 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smaller firms (10 to 199) | $17,753 | $21,598 | $27,288 | +53.7% |
| Larger firms (200+) | $18,395 | $22,389 | $28,592 | +55.4% |
Source: KFF, 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey. Percent changes are Workzenly calculations.
- KFF reports the 2026 average family premium is 28% higher than in 2021 and 55% higher than in 2016.
- Over the same five years, KFF reports wages rose 26.9% and inflation 24.4%, so premiums outpaced both.
- MEPS-IC: from 2023 to 2024, private-sector premiums rose 3.7% for single coverage and 2.5% for family coverage. AHRQ attributes the family increase mainly to an 8.5% rise in small-firm premiums.
What this means for employers: Over a decade, family premiums rose about 55% at both small and large firms. Budget renewals as a recurring cost increase, and revisit your contribution split before open enrollment, not after.
ACA thresholds and affordability
The Affordable Care Act's employer shared responsibility rules set the numbers that decide whether an employer must offer coverage and how much it can charge. From the IRS employer shared responsibility Q&A and revenue procedures:
- The rules apply to applicable large employers: those with an average of at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalents.
- A full-time employee averages at least 30 hours of service a week or 130 hours in a month. See how many hours is full time.
- To avoid the broadest penalty, the employer must offer coverage to at least 95% of full-time employees and their dependents.
- The required contribution percentage is 9.96% for plan years beginning in 2026 (Rev. Proc. 2025-25) and 10.22% for 2027 (Rev. Proc. 2026-26). The IRS adjusts it every year.
- Illustration (Workzenly calculation): 9.96% of $40,000 is $3,984 a year; 10.22% is $4,088.
What this means for employers: If you are near 50 full-time employees, count hours carefully, since part-time hours add up to full-time equivalents. Recheck your lowest-cost self-only contribution against the new percentage before 2027 plan years start. Health premiums also interact with employer payroll taxes when they run through a cafeteria plan. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
About this data
The KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey is annual, published each fall; the 2026 edition covers firms with 10 or more workers. The BLS National Compensation Survey benefits release is annual, with a March reference period. The Census Bureau's health insurance report is annual, released each September for the prior calendar year. AHRQ's MEPS-IC is annual; its latest published summary report covers 2024, and 2025 estimates are in its online data tools. The IRS publishes the affordability percentage each year in a revenue procedure.
The sources measure different things: KFF surveys firms, BLS and MEPS-IC survey establishments, and Census surveys households. Where we compute shares, changes or amounts, the text says "Workzenly calculation."
We review this page when new releases come out. Journalists, students and bloggers are welcome to cite it with a link to this page.
More workforce statistics: Employee benefits statistics · Small business statistics · Part-time employment statistics · Union membership statistics.
Sources
- KFF, 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey, published October 22, 2026. kff.org/health-costs/2026-employer-health-benefits-survey/
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2026, released September 25, 2026. bls.gov/news.release/ebs2.nr0.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Table 2, Medical care benefits: access, participation and take-up rates, March 2026. bls.gov/news.release/ebs2.t02.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Tables 3 and 4, Medical plans: share of premiums paid by employer and employee, March 2026. bls.gov/news.release/ebs2.t04.htm
- U.S. Census Bureau, Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2025 (P60-291), September 15, 2026. census.gov/library/publications/2026/demo/p60-291.html
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Research Findings #54, Health Insurance Benefits at Private Employers, MEPS-IC 2008 to 2024, December 2025. meps.ahrq.gov/data_files/publications/rf54/rf54.shtml
- Internal Revenue Service, Rev. Proc. 2025-25, required contribution percentage for 2026. irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-25.pdf
- Internal Revenue Service, Rev. Proc. 2026-26, required contribution percentage for 2027. irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-26-26.pdf
- Internal Revenue Service, Questions and answers on employer shared responsibility provisions under the Affordable Care Act. irs.gov/affordable-care-act/employers
Employer health insurance statistics FAQ
What is the average employer health insurance premium in 2026?
The KFF 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey, published October 22, 2026, puts the average annual premium at $9,804 for single coverage and $28,303 for family coverage. Both rose 5% from 2025.
How much do employers pay for employee health insurance?
Workers contribute an average of $1,672 a year for single coverage and $7,471 for family coverage in 2026, according to KFF. By Workzenly calculation, that leaves employers paying about $8,132 for single coverage and $20,832 for family coverage, or about 83% and 74% of the premium.
What percentage of employers offer health insurance?
KFF reports that 67% of firms with 10 or more workers offered health benefits in 2026, ranging from 59% of firms with 10 to 24 workers to 98% of firms with 200 or more workers.
What share of workers have access to employer health insurance?
In March 2026, 71% of private industry workers had access to employer medical care plans and 46% participated, according to the BLS National Compensation Survey. Access was 87% for full-time workers and 23% for part-time workers.
How many Americans get health insurance through an employer?
The Census Bureau reports that 53.5% of people had employment-based health insurance for some or all of 2025, making it the most common type of coverage. Its report was released September 15, 2026.
What is the ACA affordability percentage for 2026 and 2027?
The IRS set the required contribution percentage at 9.96% for plan years beginning in 2026 (Rev. Proc. 2025-25) and 10.22% for plan years beginning in 2027 (Rev. Proc. 2026-26).