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What are the 2025 FPL income thresholds for different US states and territories?
Executive summary
The 2025 HHS poverty guidelines set the base Federal Poverty Level (FPL) at $15,650 for the 48 contiguous states and D.C., with higher single-person amounts of $19,550 for Alaska and $17,990 for Hawaii; states and programs then express eligibility as percentages of those numbers (for example, Medicaid expansion commonly uses 138% of FPL) [1] [2] [3]. Official 2025 guidelines and program rules are published by HHS/ASPE and used differently across programs—Medicaid/CHIP typically use current-year guidelines while Marketplace tax credits use prior-year guidelines—so a single “threshold” depends on both state location and the program’s chosen FPL percentage [4] [5] [6].
1. What the 2025 FPL numbers actually are — the baseline figures
HHS’s 2025 poverty guidelines give a single-person annual FPL of $15,650 for the 48 contiguous states and D.C., $19,550 for Alaska, and $17,990 for Hawaii; those base numbers scale upward by household size and by $5,140 for each additional person beyond eight in one commonly used reference [1] [7]. ASPE explains these are the “poverty guidelines” often called the FPL and that the 2025 guidelines reflect price changes through 2024, so they correspond roughly to the Census Bureau’s 2024 poverty thresholds [4].
2. How programs turn a dollar figure into eligibility — percentages and state choices
Federal programs rarely use the raw dollar FPL alone; instead they use program-specific percentages (for example, 100%, 138%, 250%, 400%) to set eligibility cutoffs, and states may adopt different percentages or add rules for special groups like pregnant people or children [3] [8]. Medicaid in Medicaid‑expansion states commonly uses 138% of FPL for non‑elderly adults; CHIP, SNAP, and other programs set different percentage cutoffs and states often round or interpret income rules differently [3] [9] [2].
3. Why thresholds vary by state — Alaska, Hawaii, and state program decisions
Two distinct adjustments are built into the federal guideline: higher base FPLs for Alaska and Hawaii due to higher living costs, and state-level policy choices that change who qualifies at what percent of FPL. That means someone with the same dollar income can be above the cutoff in one state and below it in another depending on whether the state expanded Medicaid or sets different program percentages [1] [6].
4. Marketplace (ACA) subsidies vs. Medicaid — different timing and math
Marketplace premium tax credit eligibility is calculated using the prior year’s FPL numbers for the upcoming coverage year and compares projected annual income to those figures, whereas Medicaid and CHIP generally use the current year’s FPL for ongoing eligibility determinations [5] [6]. Also, policy changes through 2025 (e.g., IRA-era subsidy rules) have altered how far subsidies extend above 400% of FPL—reporting notes that subsidy rules that softened the 400% “cliff” apply through 2025 and may change in 2026, so exact dollar cutoffs for subsidies can shift with law and guidance [10].
5. State-by-state dollar thresholds — available sources and limits
Available sources provide the base 2025 FPL dollar amounts (contiguous U.S., Alaska, Hawaii) and note that state-specific income limits are usually expressed as percentages of these amounts; detailed state-by-state Medicaid or program dollar cutoffs are compiled by private guides and aggregators but the authoritative source is HHS/ASPE and state agencies for program-specific limits [11] [12] [1]. For precise state-level dollar thresholds (e.g., “$21,597 for a single adult in California at 138% FPL”), reporters and calculators produce examples, but you should verify with state Medicaid or HHS/ASPE tables because rounding, household-size rules, and program interpretations vary [8] [3].
6. Practical guidance — what to check for your situation
If you need an exact 2025 cutoff for a specific program in a specific state, use the 2025 ASPE tables for the appropriate jurisdiction (48 states/D.C., Alaska, Hawaii) and multiply by the program’s percentage (e.g., 138% for expansion Medicaid), then confirm with the state agency because of rounding and special rules; many private FPL calculators mirror these HHS numbers for convenience [11] [3] [1]. If your question concerns Marketplace subsidies, remember they use the prior year’s FPL for the coverage year and that subsidy rules in force through 2025 may differ afterward [5] [10].
Limitations and reporting notes: HHS/ASPE publishes the authoritative 2025 guidelines and program rules determine how percentages are applied; available sources do not provide a single pre-computed table of “every state and territory at every household size and program percentage” here, so for a complete state-by-state dollar chart you must consult the ASPE detailed 2025 guidelines and the relevant state agency pages [11] [4].