SNAP REACHED 42.1 MILLION PEOPLE A MONTH IN FY 2025
SNAP participation averaged 42.1 million people a month in fiscal year 2025, covering 12.3% of the U.S. population.
That was the average for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the federal food aid program for low-income people and families. USAFacts laid out the fiscal year 2025 numbers on a page dated May 30, 2025, and USDA’s Economic Research Service landed on the same average.
“In FY 2025, SNAP served an average of 42.1 million participants per month,” the Economic Research Service said.
The figure is a fiscal-year monthly average, not a head count on any single day.
How SNAP works
SNAP was formerly known as the Food Stamp program. It provides food assistance to low-income people and families.
USDA runs it at the federal level, while states mostly handle it locally.
Eligibility is based on household income, USAFacts reported. Alaska and Hawaii have higher income cutoffs because living costs are higher there.
Where it was biggest
The share of residents on SNAP varied a lot by state. New Mexico had the highest at 21.9%, while Wyoming had the lowest at 4.7%, USAFacts reported.
Washington, DC came in second to New Mexico among the listed jurisdictions.
The program’s biggest moment in the population came in fiscal year 2013, when 15% of Americans received SNAP, the highest share USAFacts listed.
Families with children also leaned on it more. In 2024, households with children were more likely to receive SNAP than households without them, USAFacts reported.
Families headed by women with children had a rate of 38.3% that year. Married-couple households without children had a rate of 3.8%.
What the latest numbers show
The Economic Research Service said fiscal year 2025 participation rose slightly from 41.7 million in fiscal year 2024. It remained above prepandemic levels and was similar to recent years, the agency said.
Federal SNAP spending came to $101.7 billion in fiscal year 2025, the Economic Research Service reported. SNAP is the largest USDA nutrition-assistance program by spending share.
On October 9, 2026, the Economic Research Service updated its SNAP participation and spending chart. It continued to report average monthly participation of 42.1 million for fiscal year 2025.
