The average cost of group health insurance premiums for family coverage in the nation’s 10 largest states was highest in New York and lowest in Ohio, according to a new analysis.

The cost of family coverage in New York last year averaged $13,757 per employee in 2009, compared with a national average of $13,027 per employee, according to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in Rockville, Md.

Closely behind New York was New Jersey, where premium costs for family coverage averaged $13,750 per employee in 2009, and Illinois, where costs averaged $13,708 per employee.

Premium costs for family coverage were lowest in Ohio, at an average of $11,870 per employee last year, and in Texas, where costs averaged $12,631 per employee.

The analysis also found that of employees nationwide who enroll in health care plans sponsored by their employers, 50% opt for single coverage, 30.5% select family coverage and 19.5% enroll in employee-plus-one-dependent coverage.

The analysis is available online at www.meps.ahrq.gov.