How Much Does SNAP Cost the Federal Government?

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cost the federal government about $99.8 billion in fiscal year 2024, the most recent complete year of data. Of that, $93.7 billion went directly to food benefits for participants and $6.1 billion covered the federal share of administrative expenses.¹ Roughly 41.7 million people in 22.4 million households were receiving SNAP each month as of mid-2025.

SNAP is an entitlement. Anyone who meets the eligibility rules is guaranteed benefits, so total spending rises and falls with the number of qualifying households rather than sitting inside a fixed appropriation.

Where the Benefit Dollars Go

About 93% of federal SNAP spending is the benefits themselves, loaded each month onto EBT cards that work at authorized grocery stores and approved online retailers.²

The benefit amount for each household is anchored to the Thrifty Food Plan, USDA’s estimate of what a nutritious diet costs at current prices. USDA updates the plan every June using the Consumer Price Index, and new figures take effect October 1.³ The formula takes the maximum allotment for a household’s size and subtracts 30% of its net monthly income; a household with no countable income receives the full maximum.⁴

For fiscal year 2026, the maximum monthly allotment in the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C. is $298 for one person, $546 for two, $785 for three, and $994 for a household of four, rising to $1,789 for eight and adding $218 for each additional person. Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands receive higher allotments to reflect elevated food costs; a single person in Hawaii can receive up to $506 per month.⁵

The federal government funds 100% of these benefit payments. States do not chip in on the benefit side.

The Federal Share of Administrative Costs

The other $6.1 billion in FY 2024 spending covers the federal government’s share of running the program: processing applications, verifying eligibility, issuing EBT cards, operating technology systems, investigating fraud, and holding fair hearings.¹

Through fiscal year 2026, the federal government pays 50% of state administrative costs and states pay the other half.⁶ A portion of the federal share funds USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service investigators, who use transaction monitoring to detect retailer trafficking and other misuse.⁷

The 2027 Cost Shift

That split changes in fiscal year 2027, which begins October 2026. Under amendments made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, the federal share of state administrative costs drops from 50% to 25%, and states pick up 75%.⁶ The change moves several billion dollars of yearly administrative expense off the federal ledger and onto state budgets.

Smaller Federal Line Items

Two other pieces of federal SNAP spending sit outside the benefit and administrative totals above.

SNAP Nutrition Education (SNAP-Ed) helps participants make healthy food choices on a limited budget. It was funded entirely with federal dollars, with no state match. The final FY 2025 allocation was $536 million across all states.⁸ The One Big Beautiful Bill Act ended mandatory federal funding for SNAP-Ed after that FY 2025 allocation; whether the program receives money in FY 2026 and beyond now depends on annual appropriations.⁹

SNAP Employment and Training helps recipients build job skills. Every state receives a 100% federal grant to run a basic program, and the federal government matches 50% of additional state spending on participant support services such as job training, transportation, and childcare.¹⁰

What Moves the Total From Year to Year

SNAP outlays can swing by tens of billions of dollars between fiscal years. Four forces do most of the work.

The Economy

When unemployment rises, more households fall below the income thresholds and qualify. During the COVID-19 pandemic, participation surged and emergency benefit increases pushed annual spending above $100 billion. As the economy recovered and emergency allotments ended, spending fell; the FY 2024 total of $99.8 billion sits well below the pandemic peak.¹ When jobs are plentiful, participation drops.

Food Prices

Because the Thrifty Food Plan is repriced every June using the Consumer Price Index, higher food prices push maximum allotments up automatically. Federal costs rise even when the number of participants holds steady.³ Income and asset thresholds also adjust annually for inflation, changing who qualifies at the margins.

Disaster SNAP

When a Presidential disaster declaration authorizes Individual Assistance from FEMA, USDA can approve states to operate Disaster SNAP. D-SNAP delivers temporary food benefits to households affected by the disaster who might not otherwise qualify. These events can add hundreds of millions to federal spending in a given year, and the amount varies with the severity and frequency of disasters.

Legislation

Congress reshapes SNAP costs through the Farm Bill and other laws that change eligibility rules, benefit formulas, or cost-sharing. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 alone cuts the federal share of administrative costs from 50% to 25% starting in FY 2027, ends mandatory SNAP-Ed funding, and modifies ABAWD exemption and waiver criteria that determine how many childless adults between 18 and 54 keep benefits past three months in a three-year period.⁶¹¹ USDA is still developing implementation guidance on the work-requirement changes, so their effect on future spending is not yet quantified.

The headline number for the current fiscal year will not be final until the books close on September 30, 2026, and it will reflect all of these forces at once: the labor market, the June 2025 Thrifty Food Plan update that set FY 2026 allotments, any disaster declarations along the way, and the first months of implementation for the 2025 law’s rule changes.

1
U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Food and Nutrition Assistance Landscape: Fiscal Year 2024
2
Food and Nutrition Service. Stores Accepting SNAP Online
3
Food and Nutrition Service. Thrifty Food Plan, 2021
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2017 – Value of Allotment
5
USDA Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustments
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2025 – Administrative Cost-Sharing and Quality Control
7
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Fraud Prevention
8
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP FY 2025 Final SNAP-Ed Allocation Memo
9
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP-Ed Questions and Answers
10
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Employment and Training
11
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Work Requirements