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New Mexico
21,422
Louisiana
17,272
West Virginia
17,123
Mississippi
14,791
Alabama
14,645
Oklahoma
14,634
Illinois
14,044
Rhode Island
13,948
Oregon
13,853
Pennsylvania
13,629
Nevada
13,583
New York
13,236
Florida
12,932
Tennessee
12,922
Georgia
12,898
Delaware
12,490
Ohio
11,803
Maine
11,625
Arkansas
11,600
Texas
11,551
Michigan
11,456
South Carolina
11,347
Kentucky
11,282
Massachusetts
11,088
Missouri
11,048
Hawaii
10,954
Arizona
10,907
Vermont
10,784
Washington
10,537
Wisconsin
10,405
California
10,246
Connecticut
10,226
Maryland
10,120
Alaska
9,969
Montana
9,874
Iowa
9,715
South Dakota
8,889
Indiana
8,559
Nebraska
8,174
Virginia
8,122
Idaho
7,948
New Jersey
7,679
Colorado
7,630
Minnesota
7,069
Kansas
6,813
North Dakota
6,317
New Hampshire
5,395
Utah
5,162
Wyoming
4,407

Welfare Recipients by State 2024

Welfare Recipients by State 2024

Welfare is a type of government support for the citizens of that society to meet their basic human needs such as food and shelter. Welfare programs typically provide either a free or subsidized supply of certain goods and services such as healthcare and education.

The United States has six major welfare programs: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income, Earned Income Tax Credit, Housing Assistance, and Medicaid. These six welfare programs are not to be confused with the four entitlement programs: Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and worker’s compensation.

Welfare recipients in the United States must prove their income falls below a certain target based on the federal poverty level in order to qualify. In April 2018, President Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to review employment requirements for TANF, Medicaid, SNAP, and housing assistance. Childless SNAP recipients who do not have disabilities, for example, must find a job within three months or lose their benefits.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) refers to food stamps. The number of SNAP recipients has decreased overall in most states. The number of recipients grew during 2007-2011 due to the recession and has seen a steady decline since, most likely because of an improving economy and the imposed three-month limit.

The ten states that have the highest number of SNAP recipients in 2022 are:

State
Food Stamps Recipients (2019)
California4,040,646
Texas3,348,300
Florida2,779,312
New York2,576,099
Illinois1,778,953
Pennsylvania1,744,319
Ohio1,380,490
Georgia1,370,779
Michigan1,143,900
Tennessee882,622

The states with the highest percentage of SNAP recipients are:

State
Recipients Rate (2019)
New Mexico21,422
Louisiana17,272
West Virginia17,123
Mississippi14,791
Alabama14,645
Oklahoma14,634
Illinois14,044
Rhode Island13,948
Oregon13,853
Pennsylvania13,629

On the other end of the spectrum, n Wyoming, New Hampshire, and Utah, only 5% of residents are SNAP recipients, the lowest in the U.S.

Welfare Recipients by State 2024

* Official program name is Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Data for 2019 is preliminary and can be subject to change.

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State
Food Stamps Recipients (2019)
Recipients Rate (2019) (per 100k)
Food Stamps Recipients (2018)
Recipients Per 100K (2018)
New Mexico449,79221,422454,24421,540
Louisiana804,56117,272838,61118,170
West Virginia307,40417,123311,86317,760
Mississippi440,49614,791477,16616,110
Alabama718,79214,645748,75515,130
Oklahoma579,61814,634581,70114,520
Illinois1,778,95314,0441,783,38914,250
Rhode Island147,59713,948157,94814,860
Oregon584,07713,853612,24914,160
Pennsylvania1,744,31913,6291,791,56413,990
Nevada419,83213,583434,89813,430
New York2,576,09913,2362,727,46214,190
Florida2,779,31212,9322,996,30213,510
Tennessee882,62212,922938,98613,410
Georgia1,370,77912,8981,485,06013,580
Delaware121,98712,490136,25213,640
Ohio1,380,49011,8031,400,70411,940
Maine156,45011,625159,32011,720
Arkansas350,44711,600363,18611,940
Texas3,348,30011,5513,610,34012,000
Michigan1,143,90011,4561,217,49912,180
South Carolina585,25211,347623,28311,670
Kentucky504,58411,282577,56512,870
Massachusetts764,52511,088768,37411,100
Missouri678,38811,048713,15111,530
Hawaii155,06110,954161,35411,510
Arizona795,31310,907834,51810,920
Vermont67,29610,78471,17611,430
Washington802,30510,537845,78910,720
Wisconsin606,03610,405634,56210,810
California4,040,64610,2463,830,6529,660
Connecticut364,65910,226376,44710,610
Maryland612,75110,120637,96610,500
Alaska73,1309,96971,7759,960
Montana105,6679,874109,42010,010
Iowa306,9409,715332,59510,480
South Dakota78,8548,88982,5669,150
Indiana576,1128,559599,6138,760
Nebraska157,9788,174163,9998,360
Virginia695,0048,122715,5598,280
Idaho142,1997,948148,7797,840
New Jersey682,7347,679731,9838,250
Colorado439,3907,630461,6597,740
Minnesota398,7067,069422,5737,360
Kansas198,4266,813211,0057,230
North Dakota48,2436,31750,5036,520
New Hampshire73,4165,39579,7275,780
Utah165,3745,162178,8125,320
Wyoming25,5644,40727,4484,710
North Carolina00
United States36,230,38011,04437,690,35211,350
showing: 50 rows

Welfare Recipients by State 2024

Sources