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What are the 2026 Federal Poverty Level thresholds for each household size and state?
Executive summary
Federal Poverty Guidelines (commonly called the FPL) for 2026 are published for three geographic sets: the 48 contiguous states + D.C., Alaska, and Hawaii; those figures are used to determine eligibility for Medicaid, Marketplace subsidies, and program thresholds (coverage effective in 2026 generally uses the prior year’s guidelines) [1] [2]. Available sources in the provided set include summary charts and guidance that give per-household-size amounts and explain add‑on amounts for households larger than eight, but a single authoritative table of every household-size threshold by state is not present in the results — the ASPE HHS poverty-guidelines page and state adaptations are the primary authorities cited [1] [3].
1. What the “FPL” numbers cover and how they’re used
The HHS Poverty Guidelines (often shortened to FPL) are simplified administrative figures used by federal and state programs to set income eligibility — for example, Medicaid expansion thresholds and Marketplace premium tax credit comparisons — and separate numbers exist for the contiguous U.S., Alaska and Hawaii [1] [2]. Many state agencies and programs (Covered California, Arkansas, state social services pages) republish the guideline amounts and derive program cutoffs like 138%, 150% or 400% of FPL from those figures [4] [5] [2].
2. Where to find the official 2026 guideline table
The primary federal source for the guidelines is the ASPE HHS “Poverty Guidelines” page, which hosts the formal tables and prior-year references; that page is the authoritative reference for the 2026 federal poverty guidelines and for Alaska/Hawaii differentials [1]. Several derivative documents and state PDFs reproduced in the search results quote HHS figures or calculate program thresholds off them [3] [6] [5].
3. Household-size math and “additional person” rule
Multiple documents in the results state that beyond an eight-person household you add a fixed dollar amount per extra person to get 100% of FPL (the exact add-on amount appears in different reproduced docs: one source says “add $5,380” for each additional person, others give $5,500 or $5,140 in various tables), indicating that published reproductions vary and you should consult the official ASPE table for the exact 2026 per‑person increment [3] [5]. The presence of inconsistent reproductions in the search results highlights the need to rely on ASPE’s master table [1].
4. Examples and program thresholds that matter in 2026
For program planning, practitioners often convert FPL to percentage thresholds such as 138% (Medicaid expansion eligibility in many states), 150% (some state programs), 250% or 400% (Marketplace subsidy cutoffs), and the 2026 ACA affordability safe-harbor calculation uses an FPL‑based monthly cap tied to 9.96% of the applicable FPL amount [2] [7] [8]. Covered California and other state guides published 2026 program cutoffs using the FPL base amounts, showing how states map federal guideline numbers into practical eligibility tiers [4] [9].
5. Why sources disagree on exact per‑person increments and a recommended next step
Search results include slightly different add‑on figures for persons beyond eight (for example, documents citing $5,380, $5,500, or $5,140), reflecting either reproduction errors, different years, or derivative calculations; the HHS/ASPE page is the canonical source and should be consulted for the definitive 2026 table [3] [5] [1]. For an authoritative per‑household-size table for every household size, open the ASPE poverty-guidelines page and the specific FY2026 guideline PDF it links to; state agencies (e.g., Covered California, state health or social services pages) will show the same base figures adapted for local program cutoffs [1] [4].
6. Limitations and what is not found in current reporting
Available sources in this set do not contain a single, reproduced state-by-state table listing the numeric 100% FPL amount for every household size for 2026 across all states; instead, they point back to the ASPE HHS guidelines and show state-level program uses [1] [4]. If you need an explicit numeric table (e.g., 1‑person through 10‑person 100% FPL amounts for Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii), that exact compiled table is not contained in the search results provided here — consult ASPE’s poverty-guidelines page or the referenced “Yearly Guidelines & Thresholds CY2026” PDF for the full numeric chart [1] [3].
If you want, I can extract the official ASPE FY2026 guideline numbers into a full household-size table for the contiguous U.S., Alaska and Hawaii — tell me whether you want raw 100% FPL amounts or common percentage thresholds (e.g., 138%, 150%, 400%) computed alongside them, and I will compile that using the ASPE table cited above [1].