November 15, 2024 | Leave a Comment

These States Get the Most Food Stamps (DC is #2!)

Intro

Intro — For those curious, we’ve done the math to rank each state (plus DC) by percentage of people using food stamps.

We took the latest USDA data on the number of people in each state that participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (the technical name for food stamps) and divided that number by the state’s latest approximate population.

Then we ranked the states by that percentage. For your reference, the national average is 12.6%, the lowest state was 5.0%, the highest was 22.6%.

We couldn’t guess the #1 state in America correctly given multiple chances, and we bet you won’t either. It was a genuine surprise!

But first…

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Food stamp costs and benefits

Food stamp costs and benefits — In 2023, a total 42 million Americans received SNAP benefits.

On average, they received $211.52 per month (or $2,538.24 per year).

The total cost of the program to taxpayers was a little over $113 billion.

And with that – on to the rankings!

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#51 Wyoming

#51 Wyoming — Food Stamp Recipients: 29,008

Population: 580,000

% on Food Stamps: 5.0%

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#50 Utah

#50 Utah — Food Stamp Recipients: 172,812

Population: 3,400,000

% on Food Stamps: 5.1%

#49 New Hampshire

#49 New Hampshire — Food Stamp Recipients: 76,815

Population: 1,400,000

% on Food Stamps: 5.5%

#48 Kansas

#48 Kansas — Food Stamp Recipients: 188,214

Population: 3,000,000

% on Food Stamps: 6.3%

#47 North Dakota

#47 North Dakota — Food Stamp Recipients: 50,819

Population: 780,000

% on Food Stamps: 6.5%

#46 Idaho

#46 Idaho — Food Stamp Recipients: 132,943

Population: 1,900,000

% on Food Stamps: 7.0%

#45 Montana

#45 Montana — Food Stamp Recipients: 82,166

Population: 1,100,000

% on Food Stamps: 7.5%

#44 Nebraska

#44 Nebraska — Food Stamp Recipients: 155,141

Population: 2,000,000

% on Food Stamps: 7.8%

#43 Arkansas

#43 Arkansas — Food Stamp Recipients: 236,521

Population: 3,000,000

% on Food Stamps: 7.9%

#42 Minnesota

#42 Minnesota — Food Stamp Recipients: 453,482

Population: 5,700,000

% on Food Stamps: 8.0%

#41 Iowa

#41 Iowa — Food Stamp Recipients: 260,172

Population: 3,200,000

% on Food Stamps: 8.1%

#40 South Dakota

#40 South Dakota — Food Stamp Recipients: 75,882

Population: 900,000

% on Food Stamps: 8.4%

#39 New Jersey

#39 New Jersey — Food Stamp Recipients: 821,777

Population: 9,400,000

% on Food Stamps: 8.7%

#38 Indiana

#38 Indiana — Food Stamp Recipients: 604,551

Population: 6,800,000

% on Food Stamps: 8.9%

#37 Virginia

#37 Virginia — Food Stamp Recipients: 839,353

Population: 8,600,000

% on Food Stamps: 9.8%

#36 Vermont

#36 Vermont — Food Stamp Recipients: 65,376

Population: 650,000

% on Food Stamps: 10.1%

#35 Colorado

#35 Colorado — Food Stamp Recipients: 590,770

Population: 5,800,000

% on Food Stamps: 10.2%

#34 Tennessee

#34 Tennessee — Food Stamp Recipients: 732,250

Population: 7,000,000

% on Food Stamps: 10.5%

#33 Missouri

#33 Missouri — Food Stamp Recipients: 655,339

Population: 6,200,000

% on Food Stamps: 10.6%

#32 Texas

#32 Texas — Food Stamp Recipients: 3,188,472

Population: 30,000,000

% on Food Stamps: 10.6%

#31 Connecticut

#31 Connecticut — Food Stamp Recipients: 391,480

Population: 3,600,000

% on Food Stamps: 10.9%

#30 Alaska

#30 Alaska — Food Stamp Recipients: 79,710

Population: 730,000

% on Food Stamps: 10.9%

#29 South Carolina

#29 South Carolina — Food Stamp Recipients: 581,003

Population: 5,300,000

% on Food Stamps: 11.0%

#28 Hawaii

#28 Hawaii — Food Stamp Recipients: 155,254

Population: 1,400,000

% on Food Stamps: 11.1%

#27 Maryland

#27 Maryland — Food Stamp Recipients: 689,592

Population: 6,200,000

% on Food Stamps: 11.1%

#26 Washington

#26 Washington — Food Stamp Recipients: 894,394

Population: 7,900,000

% on Food Stamps: 11.3%

#25 Ohio

#25 Ohio — Food Stamp Recipients: 1,394,828

Population: 11,800,000

% on Food Stamps: 11.8%

#24 Delaware

#24 Delaware — Food Stamp Recipients: 118,918

Population: 1,000,000

% on Food Stamps: 11.9%

#23 Wisconsin

#23 Wisconsin — Food Stamp Recipients: 704,707

Population: 5,900,000

% on Food Stamps: 11.9%

#22 Mississippi

#22 Mississippi — Food Stamp Recipients: 376,302

Population: 3,000,000

% on Food Stamps: 12.5%

#21 Arizona

#21 Arizona — Food Stamp Recipients: 956,726

Population: 7,300,000

% on Food Stamps: 13.1%

#20 North Carolina

#20 North Carolina — Food Stamp Recipients: 1,403,524

Population: 10,700,000

% on Food Stamps: 13.1%

#19 Rhode Island

#19 Rhode Island — Food Stamp Recipients: 144,541

Population: 1,100,000

% on Food Stamps: 13.1%

#18 Georgia

#18 Georgia — Food Stamp Recipients: 1,426,432

Population: 10,800,000

% on Food Stamps: 13.2%

#17 Florida

#17 Florida — Food Stamp Recipients: 2,960,101

Population: 22,200,000

% on Food Stamps: 13.3%

#16 Maine

#16 Maine — Food Stamp Recipients: 174,410

Population: 1,300,000

% on Food Stamps: 13.4%

#15 Kentucky

#15 Kentucky — Food Stamp Recipients: 618,035

Population: 4,500,000

% on Food Stamps: 13.7%

#14 California

#14 California — Food Stamp Recipients: 5,444,022

Population: 39,200,000

% on Food Stamps: 13.9%

#13 Michigan

#13 Michigan — Food Stamp Recipients: 1,439,309

Population: 10,000,000

% on Food Stamps: 14.4%

#12 Alabama

#12 Alabama — Food Stamp Recipients: 750,718

Population: 5,100,000

% on Food Stamps: 14.7%

#11 New York

#11 New York — Food Stamp Recipients: 2,961,711

Population: 19,800,000

% on Food Stamps: 15.0%

#10 West Virginia

#10 West Virginia — Food Stamp Recipients: 276,772

Population: 1,800,000

% on Food Stamps: 15.4%

#9 Illinois

#9 Illinois — Food Stamp Recipients: 1,946,371

Population: 12,500,000

% on Food Stamps: 15.6%

#8 Pennsylvania

#8 Pennsylvania — Food Stamp Recipients: 2,011,781

Population: 12,900,000

% on Food Stamps: 15.6%

#7 Nevada

#7 Nevada — Food Stamp Recipients: 507,169

Population: 3,200,000

% on Food Stamps: 15.8%

#6 Oklahoma

#6 Oklahoma — Food Stamp Recipients: 687,831

Population: 4,000,000

% on Food Stamps: 17.2%

#5 Massachusetts

#5 Massachusetts — Food Stamp Recipients: 1,238,070

Population: 7,000,000

% on Food Stamps: 17.7%

#4 Oregon

#4 Oregon — Food Stamp Recipients: 771,152

Population: 4,300,000

% on Food Stamps: 17.9%

#3 Louisiana

#3 Louisiana — Food Stamp Recipients: 842,491

Population: 4,600,000

% on Food Stamps: 18.3%

#2 District of Columbia

#2 District of Columbia — Food Stamp Recipients: 138,523

Population: 700,000

% on Food Stamps: 19.8%

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#1 New Mexico

#1 New Mexico — Food Stamp Recipients: 475,608

Population: 2,100,000

% on Food Stamps: 22.6%

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Recap

Recap — The top 10 states for food stamp participation are:
1) New Mexico
2) Washington, DC
3) Louisiana
4) Oregon
5) Massachusetts
6) Oklahoma
7) Nevada
8) Pennsylvania
9) Illinois
10) West Virginia

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So did you guess it?

So did you guess it? — Were you able to guess New Mexico without seeing it?

If so, you’re a whole lot smarter than I am.

What state surprised you most? Sound off in the comments!

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