SNAP (Food Stamps) Annual Participation & Costs
See how many people get food stamps each year and how much the government spends on it. You can trace recessions and policy changes through the numbers. The 1990s welfare reform shows up as a drop in enrollment. The Great Recession and COVID-19 both created sharp increases. It's basically a 56-year record of who the program serves and what it costs.
- Source rows:
- 56
- Coverage:
- 1969-01-01T00:00:00Z – 2025-12-31T00:00:00Z
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Annual SNAP records from 1969 to 2025 sorted by fiscal_year descending, with avg_participation_thousands, avg_benefit_per_person_dollars, total_benefits_millions, and computed cost_per_participant.
View defined in OpenData · Source: usda
Dataset overview
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Questions this data answers
- How many people received SNAP benefits in a given year, and how has that changed over time?
- What was the average monthly benefit amount for SNAP recipients, and has it kept pace with inflation?
- How much did the federal government spend on SNAP in total, and what portion went to benefits versus administration?
- Did SNAP participation spike during recessions or the pandemic, and by how much?
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Columns
6 columns in this table.