Uninsured People by State 2024

Health

A 2022 U.S. Census report shows that 27.2 million U.S. residents do not have health insurance. This is a decrease from the 2020 figure of 30 million and the high 48 million identified residents uninsured in 2010. This represents 8.3 percent of the population not having insurance. Additionally, the number of uninsured children decreased to five percent. Still, there are many groups that face higher rates of not having health insurance. Young adults, Black and Latino residents, Medicaid-deficient state residents, and low-income people often remain uninsured.

Home

While homeowner’s insurance is not required to purchase a home, it is required if someone is taking out a mortgage for their home. Because most people finance their home purchases, about 95% of homeowners have insurance. This means that approximately 3.5 million people do not have homeowners insurance coverage.

The more concerning data comes from those who are underinsured. This means that they may have insurance for their home, but it does not cover all damage that could be done to the home. For example, many Florida residents who were affected by Hurricane Ian in 2022 did not have flood insurance. The damage that was done to their homes was because of flooding, but without this specific insurance, they would not receive compensation to fix or rebuild their homes. One county affected by Ian had only 1.3 percent of homes covered by flood insurance.

Renters

Renters insurance, like homeowner’s insurance, is not legally required. However, many landlords require their tenants to have renter’s insurance when signing a lease. Tenants might not realize that their landlord’s property insurance doesn’t cover a renter’s personal belongings. The landlord might not know what kind of insurance their renters need either. A 2022 report showed that only 55 percent of renters had insurance. Of these approximately 61 million people, seventy-five percent were required to have insurance as part of their lease agreement.

Motorist

A study conducted by the non-profit Insurance Research Council reveals that one in eight persons driving in the U.S. did not have automobile insurance. This figure from 2019 includes a 12.6-percent nationwide uninsured motorist rate. The burden rested on insured drivers, who in 2016 covered more than $13 billion in either underinsured or uninsured coverage after accidents.

Uninsured motorist insurance percentages vary drastically by state, however. For instance, Mississippi had a little more than 29 percent, but New Jersey only had a little more than 3 percent of uninsured drivers. Conversely, Michigan had a decrease of 10.1 percent, and Delaware had a decline of 2.9 percent.

Business

Part of the reason so many small businesses might not have commercial insurance is because of its complicated nature. Some policies might not cover all that business owners thought it would. About eighty percent of non-corporate proprietors either rely on personal insurance or do not have any insurance that covers business losses and liabilities at all. Others might think they have adequate coverage but do not. A 2021 survey of 1,000 small business owners found that although over three-fourths of respondents had faced a situation for which they would need insurance coverage, only sixty-six percent of respondents had this type of insurance.

Life

In 2021, about 52 percent of U.S. citizens or residents have life insurance. Only about thirty percent of those people say they have enough to cover burial or “final” expenses. In 2019, about thirty-seven percent of people say they have enough life insurance to replace income.