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SNAP Benefits – Population Receiving SNAP (SAIPE)

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The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is a federal program that provides nutrition benefits to low-income individuals and families that are used at stores to purchase food. This indicator reports the average percentage of the population receiving SNAP benefits during the month of July during the most recent report year.

Source

US Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2022.

Source Description

The U.S. Census Bureau’s Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) provides annual estimates at the state, county, and school district level of income and poverty statistics for the administration of federal programs. This data is used to supplement the income and poverty estimates available from the American Community Survey (ACS), which only releases single-year estimates for counties and other areas with population size of 65,000 or more. SAIPE data is modeled using estimates by combining survey data (from the American Community Survey) with population estimates and administrative records (from the SNAP Benefit Program and SSA Administration). For school districts, the SAIPE program uses the model-based county estimates and inputs from federal tax information and multi-year survey data.

For more information, please refer to the US Census Bureau’s Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates website.

Methodology

Counts of the number of persons receiving SNAP benefits are obtained for the SAIPE datasets by the Census Bureau from the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (USDA/FNS). In most states, the SNAP recipient numerator represents the total count of participants for the month of July in the estimation year. In a few cases, however, states only provided data only for other reference periods. Population estimates are obtained for the SAIPE datasets from the US Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Program (PEP) and represent the poverty universe (excluding populations in group quarters, for example). Indicator percentages are summarized from the data inputs based on the following formula:

Percentage = SUM [SNAP Recipients] / SUM [Total Population] * 100

For more information about the data used in these estimates, please visit the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates website and view the provided Information About Data Inputs.

Data Breakouts Available

  • Population Receiving SNAP Benefits by Year, 2012 through 2022
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