State rankings
Welfare Time Limit by State
California has the highest Lifetime Limit (Months) (60), followed by Texas (60) and New York (60). Idaho has the lowest (24).
Lifetime Limit (Months)Better 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 →
44 of 51 statesLifetime Limit (Months)
Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.
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All 44 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
60
Middle half 60 – 60
Average
56.45
44 states
Highest
60
California
Lowest
24
Idaho
Data
Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.
50 states · # = rank by Lifetime Limit (Months)
| # | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  California | 60 | — | Removes adult |
| 1 |  Texas | 60 | 12, 24, or 36 | Removes adult after shorter limit; closes TANF case after |
| 1 |  New York | 60 | — | Closes TANF case; families eligible for safety net services |
| 1 |  Pennsylvania | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Illinois | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Ohio | 60 | 36, then ineligible for 24 | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  North Carolina | 60 | 24, then ineligible for 36 | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  New Jersey | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Virginia | 60 | 24, then ineligible for 24 | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Washington | 60 | — | Removes adult if he/she refuses to participate in WorkFirst program |
| 1 |  Tennessee | 60 | 18, then ineligible for 3 | Terminates for 3 months |
| 1 |  Missouri | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Maryland | 60 | — | Continues familys benefits to compliant families |
| 1 |  Colorado | 60 | — | Closes TANF case; county may provide diversion or short-term assistance |
| 1 |  Wisconsin | 60 | 24 | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Minnesota | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  South Carolina | 60 | 24 out of 120 | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Alabama | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Kentucky | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Louisiana | 60 | 24 out of 60 | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Oklahoma | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Connecticut | 60 | 21 | Closes TANF case; may be eligible for safety net services |
| 1 |  Nevada | 60 | 24, then ineligible for 12 | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Iowa | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Kansas | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Mississippi | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  New Mexico | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  West Virginia | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Hawaii | 60 | — | Closes TANF case; subsidy provided for full-time employment |
| 1 |  New Hampshire | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Maine | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Montana | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Rhode Island | 60 | — | Removes adult |
| 1 |  South Dakota | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  North Dakota | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  Alaska | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 1 |  District of Columbia | 60 | — | Removes non-compliant adult from assistance unit |
| 1 |  Wyoming | 60 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 39 |  Florida | 48 | 24 out of 60 or 36 out of 72 | Closes TANF case |
| 39 |  Georgia | 48 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 41 |  Utah | 36 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 42 |  Indiana | 24 | — | Removes adult |
| 42 |  Arkansas | 24 | — | Closes TANF case |
| 42 |  Idaho | 24 | — | Closes TANF case |
| — |  Michigan | — | — | State has no time limits |
| — |  Arizona | — | 24 out of 60 | Removes adult. No lifetime limit. Adult is eligible again after 36 months of ineligibility. |
| — |  Massachusetts | — | 24 out of 60 | Closes TANF case. No lifetime limit |
| — |  Oregon | — | 24 out of 84 | Time limit only applies to noncompliant cases. No lifetime limit |
| — |  Nebraska | — | 24 out of 48 | Closes TANF case. No lifetime limit |
| — |  Vermont | — | — | State has no time limits |
What correlates with Lifetime Limit (Months)?
Pearson r against 2,101 other state metrics sharing at least 27 states. Correlation is not causation.
Higher together
Places that have a higher Lifetime Limit (Months) tend to score higher on these
Opposite directions
Places that have a higher Lifetime Limit (Months) tend to score lower on these
Quick answers
- Which state has the highest Lifetime Limit (Months)?
- California has the highest Lifetime Limit (Months), at 60, followed by Texas (60) and New York (60).
- Which state has the lowest Lifetime Limit (Months)?
- Idaho has the lowest Lifetime Limit (Months), at 24.
- What is the median Lifetime Limit (Months) across US states?
- The median is 60 across the 44 US states with data.
- Where does this welfare time limit by state data come from?
- Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Welfare Time Limits - Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation.