North Carolina Medicaid income limits 2026.

The published limits, family sizes 1 to 5

These are the monthly figures on the NC Medicaid eligibility page, which says all dollar amounts are before taxes. The page gives the 65-and-older figures for family sizes 1 and 2 only, and marks the family-of-5 adult figure as approximate (about $4,449).

The pregnant-person column already includes one unborn child: the page says a pregnant person in a family of one may be eligible at $3,535 a month or less, and tells you not to add the unborn child to your family size when reading the table.

Who counts in your family size

The page says to include, even if they do not need Medicaid: you, your spouse, your children under age 21 including stepchildren, and any other person on the same federal income tax return, including children over 21 claimed on a parent’s return. You do not need to file taxes to get coverage. Do not include your parents who live with you but file their own tax return if you are over 21, or other adult relatives who file their own return. The page also says to check each person, because even if one person is not eligible, others in the family could be.

What the dollar figures correspond to

NC DHHS publishes dollars, not percentages, so the percentages below are derived here from the 2026 HHS poverty guidelines ($15,960 for one person, plus $5,680 per additional person, divided by 12). The adult figures sit at 138% (for example $15,960 × 1.38 ÷ 12 = $1,835.40), the child figures at 211%, the pregnant-person figures at 196% of the guideline for the family size plus one, the 65-and-older full Medicaid figures at 100% and the family planning figures at 195%. These are checks on the published numbers, not substitutes for them.

Work and community engagement from 2027

The eligibility page adds a third requirement starting January 1, 2027: most adults 19 through 64 years old will need to work, go to school, volunteer or make a certain amount of money for 3 months in a row before applying for Medicaid. The 80-hours-a-month arithmetic is on the linked work requirement calculator; the NC page is the place to read who must meet it and who is exempt.

Worked examples

A single adult aged 30 earning $1,800 a month before tax: the family-of-1 adult limit is $1,835, so $1,800 is at or below it and the page says to apply. A pregnant person in a family of three with $5,000 a month: the pregnant-person limit for three is $5,390, so $5,000 is within it. An adult in a family of five earning $4,500: the page gives about $4,449, so $4,500 is above the adult limit, although a child in the same family is tested against $6,802 and may still qualify.

Method

Every figure was typed from the NC Medicaid eligibility page on November 11, 2026. The page carries the sentence “Numbers are current until April 1, 2026” under each family size together with a last-modified date of September 17, 2026; the dollar amounts match the 2026 poverty guidelines, so they are the 2026 figures. The checker returns the published limit for the family size and group you choose and, if you enter an income, says whether it is at or below that limit. It does not apply deductions, which the page says a caseworker may use, and it is not a decision.

What this does not cover

• Families of six or more, and the 65-and-older limits for families of three or more, which the page does not list.
• Coverage for people with disabilities, traumatic brain injury or breast or cervical cancer, which the page says has its own rules.
• Premiums or cost sharing.
• The next update of the figures, which the page’s wording ties to April 1.

Figures read from the sources below on November 11, 2026. Last updated November 11, 2026.

Sources

• NC Medicaid (NC DHHS): Basic eligibility requirements and income limits by family size (retrieved November 11, 2026)
• HHS ASPE: 2026 poverty guidelines (retrieved November 11, 2026)