State rankings

Welfare Recipients by State

California has the highest SNAP Recipients in 2026 (5.2M), followed by Texas (3.2M) and New York (2.8M). Wyoming has the lowest (24.6K).

EconomicsPolitics & Government51 states · 1 metricUpdated May 2, 2025Original page
1 source
SNAP RecipientsBetter directionWhether a higher or a lower value is better. A green arrow means higher is better, a red arrow means lower is better, and no arrow means neither.More in the glossary →
51 of 51 states
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SNAP Recipients, 2026

Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.

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All 51 ranked

Highest first.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one state; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median
514.8K
Middle half 155.7K – 756.2K
Average
754.6K
51 states
Highest
5.2M
California
Lowest
24.6K
Wyoming

Over time · 2023–2026

The top 5 in 2026, against the median.

  • Median of all states
  • California
  • Texas
  • New York
  • Florida
  • Pennsylvania

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

51 states · # = rank by SNAP Recipients
#
1California5.2M
2Texas3.2M
3New York2.8M
4Florida2.6M
5Pennsylvania1.8M
6Illinois1.7M
7Georgia1.4M
8Michigan1.4M
9Ohio1.4M
10North Carolina1.2M
11Massachusetts975.5K
12Washington874.9K
13New Jersey786.9K
14Oregon725.5K
15Virginia715.7K
16Louisiana710.7K
17Alabama693.8K
18Wisconsin656.8K
19Maryland644.5K
20Missouri623.9K
21Oklahoma611.7K
22Tennessee611.3K
23Colorado587.9K
24Kentucky584K
25Indiana532.6K
26South Carolina514.8K
27Arizona509.7K
28New Mexico444.5K
29Minnesota435.2K
30Nevada430.6K
31Connecticut331.1K
32Mississippi326.3K
33West Virginia255.3K
34Iowa249.5K
35Arkansas228.2K
36Kansas174.1K
37Hawaii161.1K
38Utah156.6K
39Maine154.7K
40Nebraska136.2K
41District of Columbia135.4K
42Rhode Island129.5K
43Idaho123.9K
44Delaware112.1K
45New Hampshire74.6K
46Montana72.9K
47South Dakota71K
48Alaska64.7K
49Vermont61.3K
50North Dakota52.5K
51Wyoming24.6K

What correlates with SNAP Recipients (2026)?

Pearson r against 2,096 other state metrics sharing at least 31 states. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher SNAP Recipients tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

  1. Post-2010 Rep ApportionmentNumber of Representatives by State
    r = +0.99 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  2. LGBTQ PopulationWhat Percentage of the Population is Gay?
    r = +0.99 · very strong · n = 51
    Plot
  3. Total Delegate CountDelegate Count by State
    r = +0.99 · very strong · n = 51
    Plot
  4. SSI RecipientsSSI Payment Amounts by State
    r = +0.99 · very strong · n = 51
    Plot
  5. Total HumansHorse Population by State
    r = +0.99 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  6. Never SmokedSmoking Rates by State
    r = +0.99 · very strong · n = 51
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher SNAP Recipients tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

  1. FTE Convictions RankMost Corrupt StatesA rank: rank 1 is the worst
    r = −0.70 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  2. Req. English CreditsHigh School Graduation Requirements by State
    r = −0.62 · strong · n = 48
    Plot
  3. OpportunityBest States to Live InA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.55 · strong · n = 49
    Plot
  4. Mitigation Efforts RankFood Waste by StateA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.54 · strong · n = 50
    Plot
  5. Opportunity RankWorst States to Live inA rank: rank 1 is the worst
    r = −0.52 · strong · n = 50
    Plot
  6. Related Groups per Capita RankBest States to HomeschoolA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.52 · strong · n = 50
    Plot

Quick answers

Which state has the highest SNAP Recipients?
California has the highest SNAP Recipients in 2026, at 5.2M, followed by Texas (3.2M) and New York (2.8M).
Which state has the lowest SNAP Recipients?
Wyoming has the lowest SNAP Recipients in 2026, at 24.6K.
What is the median SNAP Recipients across US states?
The median is 514.8K across the 51 US states with data in 2026.
Where does this welfare recipients by state data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: SNAP Number of Persons Participating - USDA Food and Nutrition Service.