Workers' Family Coverage Costs Up 9% as Premiums Outpace Wages

The total price rose more slowly. Average annual premiums for family coverage reached $28,303, up 5%. Single coverage averaged $9,804, also up 5%. KFF reports that workers' wages rose 3.7% over the same period and inflation was 2.7%.

The longer view is similar. Over five years, family premiums rose 28%, compared with 26.9% for wages and 24.4% for inflation, according to KFF. Employer-sponsored insurance covers almost 157 million people under age 65.

The burden is not spread evenly. Workers at firms with 10 to 199 employees pay an average of $9,687 for family coverage, against $6,840 at larger firms. Covered workers at smaller firms contribute 37% of the family premium on average, compared with 25% at larger firms. About 32% of covered workers at smaller firms must pay more than half of the family premium, compared with 6% at larger firms.

Thirteen percent of all covered workers, and 31% of those at smaller firms, are in a plan that asks $12,000 or more in contributions for family coverage. The average deductible for single coverage is $1,955.

Costs also vary by place and workforce. Family premiums average $31,378 in the Northeast and $26,702 in the South. They average $28,689 at firms where at least 35% of workers are 50 or older, against $27,889 at other firms.

For employers, these numbers frame a strategic choice. Benefits are a recruiting tool, but each added cost competes with wages and with the share workers already pay. That is an interpretation, not a survey finding. The strategic question is whether coverage of metabolic and preventive care, such as GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, is worth its cost against the other levers a firm can pull.

KFF says it asked employers detailed questions this year about GLP-1 coverage, actions taken in response to projected cost increases, and plan satisfaction. The portion of the findings reviewed here does not include the GLP-1 results, so this article does not report them. KFF says the cost of health benefits was projected to rise substantially in 2026, and early projections point to further growth in 2027.

The survey is based on 1,937 interviews with non-federal public and private firms. Next, watch the full KFF report and tables for how many employers cover weightloss drugs, and whether 2027 premium increases push more of the cost onto workers.

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