MedicaidCalc
2026 poverty guidelines · all 50 states + DC

Medicaid Eligibility Calculator

In the 41 expansion states (including DC), an adult qualifies for Medicaid with income up to $1,836 a month — 138% of the 2026 poverty line — and children and pregnant women qualify at higher incomes in every state. Pick your state and household to see each person’s result.

Who can get Medicaid or CHIP in your household?

Who needs coverage? Pick everyone you want to check — each gets their own row.

Eligibility checklist

Choose a state to see its limits.

Medicaid and CHIP limits by state

Each state page shows its own limits for adults, parents, pregnancy and children, a worked example with that state’s numbers, and where to apply. The figure beside each state is the monthly limit for one adult.

How Medicaid eligibility works in 2026

Medicaid and CHIP decide most applicants under 65 by comparing your household’s monthly modified adjusted gross income with a percentage of the federal poverty line for your household size. In 2026 the poverty line is $15,960 a year for one person and $33,000 for four in the lower 48 states and DC; Alaska and Hawaii publish higher guidelines.

Each state sets its own percentage for each group. Children’s limits run from about 190% to 405% of the poverty line once CHIP is included; pregnancy limits from 138% to 324%. Adults without children are the group that varies most: 41 jurisdictions cover them to 138%, while 10 states — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming — did not adopt the expansion.

Federal rules add a disregard worth 5 percentage points of the poverty line to the highest limit a person can qualify under, which is why 133% becomes 138%. The calculator adds it for you. Read how Medicaid counts income for which income and which people count.

Questions people ask

What is the income limit for Medicaid in 2026?

For an adult 19–64 in an expansion state, $1,836 a month for one person, $2,489 for two, $3,142 for three and $3,795 for four (138% of the 2026 poverty line). Other groups and the non-expansion states differ — see the 2026 income chart.

Do I qualify for Medicaid if I have no income?

In an expansion state, yes, as long as you meet residency and immigration rules. In most non-expansion states an adult without children does not qualify at any income — the coverage gap — though Wisconsin covers adults to 100% of the poverty line and Georgia does through its Pathways program with an 80-hour requirement.

What is the CHIP income limit?

It depends on the state: from about 190% of the poverty line in Idaho to 405% in New York, including the disregard. The CHIP limits by state table lists every one.

Will I have to work to keep Medicaid?

Starting January 1, 2027, adults in the expansion group (and Georgia Pathways and Wisconsin’s adult waiver) must show 80 hours a month of work, school, training or volunteering, with exemptions for parents of young children, pregnancy, disability and more. Details are in the 2027 work requirement.

I am over 65 or have a disability. Does this apply to me?

Those programs use different income counting and an asset test. The calculator shows your state’s pathways and figures; the 65+ and disability guide explains them.

Guides

Figures verified · sources · methodology