SEPT. 14, 2023 – 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 today 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:
Additional statistics on health insurance coverage can be found in the report, Health Insurance Coverage Status and Type by Geography: 2021 and 2022.
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.
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Note: Statistics from sample surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error. All comparisons made in the highlights have been tested and found to be statistically significant at the 90% confidence level unless otherwise noted. Consult the tables on data.census.gov for specific margins of error. For more information on margins of error, visit the Code Lists, Definitions, and Accuracy webpage.
Changes in survey design from year to year can affect results. For more information on changes affecting the 2022 statistics, refer to our user notes.