Medicaid and CHIP Income Limits by State
What are the income limits for Medicaid and CHIP?
Each state sets its own limits as a percentage of the poverty guidelines, and children always get the most generous ones. Combined, Medicaid and CHIP cover children to at least 170 percent of poverty in every state; pregnancy coverage runs from 133 to 375 percent depending on the state; and in the 41 jurisdictions that expanded Medicaid (40 states and DC), other adults qualify up to 138 percent. The full state by state table, published by Medicaid.gov, is below.
Health coverage is where the map matters most. Two families with the same paycheck can live ten miles apart across a state line and get completely different answers for themselves, while their kids qualify in both places. The table below is the one the federal program itself publishes, and the worked examples under it translate those percentages into the dollars a family actually sees.
Medicaid and CHIP income limits by state (percent of the poverty guidelines)
| State | Children, Medicaid 0-1 | Children, Medicaid 1-5 | Children, Medicaid 6-18 | Separate CHIP up to | Pregnant, Medicaid | Pregnant, CHIP | Parents | Adult expansion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 141% | 141% | 141% | 312% | 141% | None | 13% | No expansion |
| Alaska | 203% | 203% | 203% | Covered in Medicaid | 200% | None | 130% | 133% |
| Arizona | 147% | 141% | 133% | 200% | 156% | None | 106% | 133% |
| Arkansas | 142% | 142% | 142% | 211% | 209% | None | 13% | 133% |
| California | 261% | 261% | 261% | 317% | 208% | None | 109% | 133% |
| Colorado | 142% | 142% | 142% | 260% | 195% | 260% | 68% | 133% |
| Connecticut | 196% | 196% | 196% | 318% | 258% | None | 155% | 133% |
| Delaware | 212% | 142% | 133% | 212% | 212% | None | 87% | 133% |
| District of Columbia | 319% | 319% | 319% | Covered in Medicaid | 319% | None | 216% | 210% |
| Florida | 206% | 140% | 133% | 210% | 191% | None | 24% | No expansion |
| Georgia | 205% | 149% | 133% | 247% | 220% | None | 28% | No expansion |
| Hawaii | 308% | 308% | 308% | Covered in Medicaid | 191% | None | 105% | 133% |
| Idaho | 142% | 133% | 133% | 185% | 133% | None | 19% | 133% |
| Illinois | 313% | 313% | 313% | Covered in Medicaid | 208% | None | 133% | 133% |
| Indiana | 208% | 158% | 158% | 250% | 208% | None | 15% | 133% |
| Iowa | 375% | 167% | 167% | 302% | 375% | None | 44% | 133% |
| Kansas | 166% | 149% | 133% | 250% | 166% | None | 33% | No expansion |
| Kentucky | 213% | 213% | 213% | Covered in Medicaid | 195% | 213% | 19% | 133% |
| Louisiana | 212% | 212% | 212% | 250% | 133% | None | 19% | 133% |
| Maine | 300% | 300% | 300% | Covered in Medicaid | 209% | None | 100% | 133% |
| Maryland | 317% | 317% | 317% | Covered in Medicaid | 259% | None | 123% | 133% |
| Massachusetts | 200% | 150% | 150% | 300% | 200% | None | 133% | 133% |
| Michigan | 212% | 212% | 212% | Covered in Medicaid | 195% | None | 54% | 133% |
| Minnesota | 283% | 275% | 275% | Covered in Medicaid | 278% | None | 133% | 200% |
| Mississippi | 194% | 143% | 133% | 209% | 194% | None | 19% | No expansion |
| Missouri | 196% | 150% | 150% | 300% | 196% | 300% | 15% | 133% |
| Montana | 143% | 143% | 143% | 261% | 157% | None | 24% | 133% |
| Nebraska | 213% | 213% | 213% | Covered in Medicaid | 194% | None | 58% | 133% |
| Nevada | 160% | 160% | 133% | 200% | 160% | None | 26% | 133% |
| New Hampshire | 318% | 318% | 318% | Covered in Medicaid | 196% | None | 55% | 133% |
| New Jersey | 194% | 142% | 142% | 350% | 194% | 200% | 26% | 133% |
| New Mexico | 300% | 300% | 240% | Covered in Medicaid | 250% | None | 37% | 133% |
| New York | 218% | 149% | 149% | 400% | 218% | None | 133% | 200% |
| North Carolina | 211% | 211% | 211% | Covered in Medicaid | 196% | None | 36% | 133% |
| North Dakota | 170% | 170% | 170% | Covered in Medicaid | 170% | None | 43% | 133% |
| Ohio | 206% | 206% | 206% | Covered in Medicaid | 200% | None | 90% | 133% |
| Oklahoma | 205% | 205% | 205% | Covered in Medicaid | 205% | None | 33% | 133% |
| Oregon | 185% | 133% | 133% | 300% | 185% | None | 33% | 133% |
| Pennsylvania | 215% | 157% | 133% | 314% | 215% | None | 33% | 133% |
| Rhode Island | 261% | 261% | 261% | Covered in Medicaid | 190% | 253% | 116% | 133% |
| South Carolina | 208% | 208% | 208% | Covered in Medicaid | 194% | None | 62% | No expansion |
| South Dakota | 182% | 182% | 182% | 204% | 133% | None | 46% | 133% |
| Tennessee | 195% | 142% | 133% | 250% | 195% | None | 84% | No expansion |
| Texas | 198% | 144% | 133% | 201% | 198% | None | 12% | No expansion |
| Utah | 139% | 139% | 133% | 200% | 139% | None | 36% | 133% |
| Vermont | 312% | 312% | 312% | Covered in Medicaid | 208% | None | 43% | 133% |
| Virginia | 143% | 143% | 143% | 200% | 143% | 200% | 49% | 133% |
| Washington | 210% | 210% | 210% | 312% | 193% | None | 33% | 133% |
| West Virginia | 158% | 141% | 133% | 300% | 185% | 300% | 16% | 133% |
| Wisconsin | 301% | 186% | 151% | 301% | 301% | None | 95% | No expansion |
| Wyoming | 200% | 200% | 200% | Covered in Medicaid | 154% | None | 45% | No expansion |
Levels published by Medicaid.gov for state decisions as of December 1, 2023, including the 5 percent MAGI disregard where it applies. "Covered in Medicaid" means the state runs children's coverage through Medicaid rather than a separate CHIP program. California's separate CHIP covers certain children to 317% statewide to age 2, and to age 19 in three counties. To turn a percentage into dollars, multiply your household size's poverty guideline in the screener by the percentage, or run your own income through it directly.
How to read a row: one Texas family
Take a Texas family of four earning $45,000, which is 136 percent of the poverty guideline. Their baby is covered by Medicaid up to 198 percent, or $65,340 a year, so the baby is in. Their ten year old faces the 6 to 18 Medicaid line of 133 percent, $43,890, which the family passes by $1,110; that is not the end, because Texas CHIP reaches 201 percent, $66,330, and the ten year old fits there with $21,330 to spare. The parents are the hard part: Texas has no adult expansion group, and its parent limit of 12 percent works out to $3,960 a year, a line almost no working parent can duck under.
The same paycheck in an expansion state
Move that family, same $45,000, to Ohio or Colorado and everyone in the house can be covered: the adults through the expansion group up to 138 percent ($45,540 for four), the children through Medicaid and CHIP far above that. State lines, not effort, draw that difference. It is also why the adult column is the first thing to check when a move is on the table for other reasons.
Higher up the income ladder: New York and California
A New York family of four earning $60,000 is at 182 percent of poverty. Their school age child is over the state's 149 percent Medicaid line for ages 6 to 18 ($49,170) but comfortably inside Child Health Plus, New York's CHIP, which runs to 400 percent ($132,000). The parents are past Medicaid, yet New York covers adults to 200 percent ($66,000) through its Basic Health Program, so the whole family still lands in coverage, just through three different doors. In California, a family of three earning $55,000 (201 percent of poverty) finds children covered to 261 percent ($71,305) and pregnancy coverage to 208 percent ($56,826), a margin of only $1,826, which shows how quickly a raise can matter near a line.
Why children and pregnancy sit higher
Federal law requires states to cover children and pregnant women at meaningful levels and pays most of the CHIP bill, so states have pushed those lines up over two decades while parent coverage in non-expansion states stayed frozen near the old welfare era numbers. If you take one habit from this page, make it this: never assume the whole family shares one answer. Check the children and any pregnancy first, on their own higher lines, even if your own coverage looks hopeless.
Health costs that Medicaid does not cover still land in the household budget. Families often pair this page with the childcare cost tables when a parent is deciding whether a job's hours are worth it, because coverage cliffs and childcare bills tend to arrive in the same month.
Frequently asked questions
What income qualifies a child for Medicaid or CHIP?
It depends on the state and the child's age, and it is higher than most parents guess. Every state covers children to at least 185 percent of the poverty guidelines once Medicaid and CHIP are combined, and many reach 300 percent or more. For a family of four at 200 percent of poverty, the dollar line is $66,000 a year with the 2026 guidelines. Find your state in the table on this page.
What is the 5 percent disregard I keep reading about?
When Medicaid works out your income under the MAGI rules, it ignores an amount worth 5 percent of the poverty guidelines. That is why the adult expansion limit is usually described as 138 percent even though the statute says 133: the extra 5 points are the disregard. The levels Medicaid.gov publishes, and that this page uses, already reflect that adjustment where it applies.
We earn too much for Medicaid. What happens to the kids?
CHIP is built for exactly that gap. It covers uninsured children in families over the Medicaid line, sometimes up to 300 or 400 percent of poverty, usually with small premiums. If the children are over even the CHIP line, the next stop is a Marketplace plan with premium tax credits, which your state exchange or HealthCare.gov will price for you.
My state has not expanded Medicaid. Can I get coverage as a parent?
In the ten states without an expansion group, parents qualify only at very low incomes, often under 50 percent of poverty, and adults without children generally cannot qualify on income at any level. That hole is known as the coverage gap. Children and pregnant women are covered under their own, much higher limits in those same states, so check your kids even if your own answer is no.
Does Medicaid count my income the same way SNAP does?
No. Medicaid uses MAGI, a tax based definition: roughly your adjusted gross income with a few items added back. SNAP counts gross income, then applies its own deductions to reach net income. The same pay stub can land at slightly different numbers in the two programs, which is one more reason the agency's own calculation is the one that counts.
How do we apply for Medicaid or CHIP?
One application covers both: your state sorts each family member into the right program. Apply through your state Medicaid agency or through HealthCare.gov, which forwards your file to the state when it looks like Medicaid or CHIP fits. Children can be covered even when the parents are not.
Keep exploring
Programs: Benefits eligibility screener · WIC income limits · LIHEAP income limits · Medicaid and CHIP income limits · State earned income tax credits · Unemployment maximums by state
Already on Mami's Budget: SNAP maximum benefits by household size · USDA grocery costs by state · Childcare costs by state · Family budget planner
Source: Medicaid.gov (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), 'Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program, & Basic Health Program Eligibility Levels,' state decisions as of December 1, 2023; dollar translations computed from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2026 Poverty Guidelines (91 FR 1797). Retrieved October 31, 2026. Percentages are the published guidelines; states apply them with the MAGI rules and make the final eligibility decision for each person.