SSI payments vary by state because the federal government sets a national floor and most states add their own supplement on top. In 2026, the federal maximum is $994 per month for an individual and $1,491 for an eligible couple.1Social Security Administration. SSI Federal Payment Amounts What lands in your account depends on three things: your state’s supplement, your living situation, and any other income you have. Six states pay nothing extra. Others push the combined total above $1,300 for someone living independently. So the SSI payment by state you’d actually receive is the federal base, plus or minus whatever your state does, minus any reductions the SSA applies to your specific case.
The 2026 Federal Base Everyone Starts From
The federal benefit rate is the ceiling before state supplements and the floor for anyone in a state that adds nothing. For 2026 it’s $994 a month for an individual and $1,491 for a couple where both spouses qualify.1Social Security Administration. SSI Federal Payment Amounts The increase reflects a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment tied to the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2024 through the third quarter of 2025.2Social Security Administration. 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet
The couple rate is not two individual rates added together. Two unmarried SSI recipients living together each collect up to $994, for a combined $1,988. A married couple collecting as a unit receives $1,491, roughly 25 percent less.3Social Security Administration. Treatment of Married Couples in the SSI Program This is sometimes called the SSI marriage penalty, and it matters for anyone considering marriage while on benefits.
How State Supplements Work
Most states add a State Supplemental Payment on top of the $994 federal base. The dollar amount, who qualifies for it, and even who cuts the check all vary by state. Some supplements add only a few dollars a month; others push the total well past $1,200 for an individual living independently.
Administration falls into three patterns. The SSA administers the state supplement directly in California, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont, so recipients there get one combined payment. Delaware, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Michigan, and Pennsylvania use dual administration, where the SSA handles some categories and the state handles others. Every remaining state that offers a supplement sends its own payment separately from the federal check.4Social Security Administration. Understanding Supplemental Security Income SSI Benefits — 2025 Edition
State supplements are set by state legislatures, so amounts shift from year to year and typically differ by living arrangement. Someone in an independent household may receive a different supplement than someone in shared housing or an assisted-care facility. For the exact figure that applies to your situation, contact your state’s social services department directly. The SSA’s published tables don’t always reflect the most current state-level amounts.4Social Security Administration. Understanding Supplemental Security Income SSI Benefits — 2025 Edition
States With No Supplement
Six states provide no state supplement at all: Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Dakota, Tennessee, and West Virginia. If you live in one of these states, the $994 federal maximum is the most you can receive before any income-related reductions.
What Reduces Your Payment Below the Maximum
The federal base and any state supplement together form your maximum. Several things can pull the actual payment lower.
Other Income
Income you receive from other sources reduces SSI after certain exclusions. The SSA ignores the first $20 per month of most income and the first $65 of earned income, and then counts only half of remaining earnings against your benefit.5Social Security Administration. SSI Income — 2025 Edition Unearned income like a pension or a Social Security retirement check reduces SSI more sharply because there’s no 50 percent disregard.
Take someone earning $500 a month in wages with no other income. Subtract the $20 general exclusion, then the $65 earned income exclusion, then cut what remains in half. That leaves $207.50 in countable income, and the SSI payment drops from $994 to $786.50.6Social Security Administration. Income Exclusions for SSI Program Part-time work usually doesn’t wipe out the benefit, but it does chip away at it.
Help With Shelter
If someone else pays your rent, mortgage, utilities, or property taxes, the SSA treats that help as income under a rule called in-kind support and maintenance. As of September 30, 2024, food is no longer counted in this calculation, so family members can buy groceries for an SSI recipient without affecting the check.7Federal Register. Omitting Food From In-Kind Support and Maintenance Calculations Shelter help still counts.
The reduction is capped through a formula called the presumed maximum value: one-third of the federal benefit rate plus $20, which comes to $351.33 in 2026. After the $20 general income exclusion, the largest possible reduction from shelter assistance is $331.33, taking a $994 payment down to $662.67.8Social Security Administration. Understanding Supplemental Security Income Living Arrangements — 2025 Edition Even if a relative pays $2,000 a month for your rent, the hit to your SSI can’t exceed that cap.
Marriage and Deeming
Marrying another SSI recipient shifts you both to the couple rate of $1,491, a drop of roughly $500 from what two individuals would receive. Marrying someone who doesn’t receive SSI can cost even more, because the SSA deems a portion of your spouse’s income and resources as available to you, which can reduce or eliminate your benefit. Living with an unrelated person who earns the same amount produces no such reduction.3Social Security Administration. Treatment of Married Couples in the SSI Program
Nursing Homes and Other Medicaid Facilities
If you enter a medical facility where Medicaid covers more than half the cost of your care, your SSI drops to a maximum of $30 per month. For couples, the cap is $60.9Social Security Administration. Determination of Applicability of $30 Payment Limit The reasoning is that the facility is covering your food and shelter, so the full benefit isn’t needed.
One exception matters a great deal. If you receive Medicaid services through a home and community-based waiver that lets you live at home rather than in a facility, the $30 cap usually doesn’t apply. Staying home under a waiver program preserves far more of your SSI than entering a Medicaid-funded institution.
SSI and Medicaid
Your state also determines whether SSI eligibility carries Medicaid with it automatically. In most states it does. A smaller group, eight states according to the most recent SSA data, require a separate Medicaid application and may apply slightly different eligibility criteria. If you’re in one of those states, your local Social Security office or state Medicaid agency can tell you what to file.
Putting It Together for Your State
To estimate your actual monthly payment, start with $994 (or $1,491 as a couple). Add your state’s supplement if it has one, using the figure that matches your living arrangement. Subtract any countable income under the SSA’s exclusion rules, and subtract any reduction for shelter help someone else provides, up to the $331.33 cap. If you’re in a Medicaid-funded facility, the answer collapses to $30 regardless of state. Because state supplements are the piece that moves most, and because they turn on details like whether you live alone, with family, or in assisted care, the state agency that administers your supplement is the right source for a precise number.