How much does the federal government spend on SNAP every year?
Updates published annually
About $100.3 billion during fiscal year (FY) 2024. That’s 1.5% of all federal spending. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), once known as the Food Stamp program, is administered by the Department of Agriculture providing food assistance to low-income people.
$100B
spent on SNAP in (FY 2024)
1.5%
SNAP’s share of federal spending (FY 2024)
The first federal Food Stamp Program was established in 1939 and went through a number of iterations before it officially became SNAP in 2008. SNAP funding is authorized through the Farm Bill as open-ended mandatory spending, meaning spending is not capped and is determined by the level of benefits that need to be paid. Spending at any given time is driven by participation, which may be dependent on economic conditions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, SNAP benefits for individual households were temporarily boosted.
The $100.3 billion in SNAP spending in FY 2024 was 24.1% lower than the inflation-adjusted $132.2 billion spent in FY 2021, a program high.
About $93.8 billion or 93.5% of the FY 2024 spending went toward monthly benefits. The remainder includes the federal share of state administrative expenses, nutrition education, and employment and training programs.
The federal government spent $100.3B on SNAP in FY 2024.
Federal SNAP spending, inflation-adjusted to FY 2024
Since 2004, SNAP recipients have received benefits once a month using an electronic benefits transfer system used to directly pay food retailers. In FY 2024, the average participant received $188 in monthly benefits, down 25.8% from a FY 2021 high of $253 per person.
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On average, a SNAP participant received $188 in monthly benefits in FY 2024.
Monthly SNAP benefits per person, adjusted to FY 2024 dollars
Households qualify for SNAP based on income level and household size. Maximum monthly SNAP allotments are set each year by the USDA based on an estimate of how much it costs to provide nutritious, low-cost meals for a household.
For FY 2025, a one-person household in the lower 48 states or Washington, DC could get at most $292 in SNAP benefits per month. A household of four could get a maximum of $975 or $244 per person. Maximum allotments are higher in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.
Maximum monthly SNAP allotments in the lower 48 states and Washington, DC, by household size (FY 2025)
| 1. | One | $292 |
| 2. | Two | $536 |
| 3. | Three | $768 |
| 4. | Four | $975 |
| 5. | Five | $1,200 |
| 6. | Six | $1,400 |
| 7. | Seven | $1,500 |
| 8. | Eight | $1,800 |
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
