the average cost of living in 10 low-risk states for transgender people

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Thank you for boosting yesterday’s post on the average cost of living in the safest states for trans people on Instagram, and thank you to those who shared feedback and suggestions! I always appreciate your support in every form.

Yesterday, I published a post on my Substack that included the average cost of living for the 15 safest states for transgender people based on Erin Reed’s Anti-Trans Legislative Risk Map.

As a reminder, Erin Reed has six categories on the map:

• Do Not Travel (currently only Florida)
• Worst laws passed
• High risk within 2 years
• Moderate risk within 2 years
• Low risk within 2 years
• Safest states with strong protections

Today, I’ve compiled the data for the average cost of living in the 10 low-risk states for transgender people, listed from lowest to highest cost of living.

Wisconsin

Annual cost of living: $49,284

Median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment: $861

Wisconsin BadgerCare Plus covers gender-affirming healthcare. Single adults who make $1,215 per month or less may be eligible for certain health plans under the BadgerCare Plus umbrella. A guide to applying for benefits is available on the Wisconsin Department of Health Services website.

Michigan

Annual cost of living: $49,482

Median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment: $883

• in Detroit: $941

The Healthy Michigan Plan covers gender-affirming healthcare. Single adults who make about $18,000 per year are eligible for the Healthy Michigan Plan. Full eligibility details are available here.

Arizona

Annual cost of living: $50,123

Median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment: $1,268

• in Phoenix: $1,378

Arizona state health plans, which are under the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) Medicaid agency, do not cover gender-affirming healthcare.

Nevada

Annual cost of living: $50,922

Median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment: $1,225

• in Las Vegas: $1,167

Nevada Health Link covers gender-affirming healthcare. People of any income level may use Nevada Health Link as their health insurance, but only people with incomes at the federal poverty level are eligible for free benefits. For single adults, that income level is $14,580 per year. Full eligibility details are available here.

Virginia

Annual cost of living: $52,027

Average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment: $1,663*

• Median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in Richmond: $1,089

Virginia Medicaid covers gender-affirming healthcare. Single adults who make less than $21,579 per year are eligible for free benefits. Use CoverVA’s Eligibility Screening Tool to find out if you are eligible.

*The median rent data for this article was sourced from Zillow, except for the states of Virginia and Delaware, which were sourced from Apartment List.

Rhode Island

Annual cost of living: $52,820

Median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment: $1,545

Rhode Island Medicaid covers gender-affirming healthcare. According to benefits.gov, single adults who make $19,392 per year or less may be eligible for Rhode Island Medicaid.

Pennsylvania

Annual cost of living: $53,703

Median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment: $1,225

• in Philadelphia: $1,171

Pennsylvania Medical Assistance covers gender-affirming healthcare. According to benefits.gov, only people who are pregnant, or have dependents age 17 and younger, or have a disability or a family member living with a disability are eligible for Pennsylvania Medical Assistance. Of those groups, single adults must make $19,392 per year or less to be eligible for the state Medicaid plan. Full details about Pennsylvania Medical Assistance can be found on the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services website.

Delaware

Annual cost of living: $54,532

Average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment: $1,283*

Delaware Medicaid covers gender-affirming healthcare. According to benefits.gov, only people who are pregnant, have dependents age 17 or younger, blind, have a disability or a family member with a disability, or people 65 years of age or older are eligible for Delaware Medicaid. Of those groups, single adults must make $19,392 per year or less to be eligible for the state Medicaid plan. Full eligibility details are available on Delaware ASSIST.

*The median rent data for this article was sourced from Zillow, except for the states of Virginia and Delaware, which were sourced from Apartment List.

Maine

Annual cost of living: $55,789

Median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment: $1,417

MaineCare covers gender-affirming healthcare. Single adults with an income of $1,957 per month or less are eligible for benefits. Full eligibility details are available on Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services website.

New Hampshire

Annual cost of living: $60,828

Median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment: $1,628

New Hampshire Medicaid covers gender-affirming healthcare. Income limits vary among NH Medicaid’s different programs. See full eligibility details on NH Easy.

Methodology

• The 10 states listed above are low-risk states for trans people within the next 2 years according to Erin Reed’s September 2023 Anti-Trans Legislative Risk Map for Adults
• The annual cost of living data is sourced from the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ Personal Consumption Expenditures 2022 Report released on October 4, 2023.
• The median rent for each state is sourced from Zillow Rentals Data updated on November 4, 2023 (Search settings: 1 bedroom » Apartments and Condos), with the exception of the average rent for the states of Virginia and Delaware, which are sourced from Apartment List.
• The information about each state’s healthcare laws was sourced from the Movement Advancement Project’s report called Healthcare Laws and Policies: Medicaid Coverage for Transgender-Related Health Care last updated on August 16, 2023, with the exception of Washington, DC.
• Income level eligibility information for each state health plan was sourced from each state health plan’s website when it was available. For states where this information is not readily available on the state health plan’s website, I used the benefits.gov page for each state (search settings: family size » 1).

Please share this information with a friend who needs to move to a different state for their safety.

Thank you again for being here. <3