STATE OF SNAP
How does SNAP usage differ across the United States?
Numerator’s State of SNAP analysis breaks out SNAP & WIC trips by state to show how benefit usage has progressed regionally over the past five years. Understanding how SNAP & WIC usage varies across the country can help brands and retailers localize their offerings to reach consumers most in need.
SNAP & WIC Trends by State
While the country saw an overall increase in SNAP & WIC usage throughout the pandemic, select states experienced greater swings than others. Washington D.C., Kansas, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Alaska saw the largest increase in SNAP trips, up nearly 3x between 2019 and 2023. After relative growth across the board between 2019 and 2021, most states began to see a decline in benefit usage in 2022, a trend that has continued through 2024 following the end of the Emergency Allotment benefit program in 2023.
Regional SNAP & WIC Trends
The Pacific region of the US has consistently shown the highest rates of SNAP & WIC benefit usage, with 6.8% of the region’s in-store grocery trips utilizing these benefits, 1.6x the national average. SNAP trips in all regions saw a decline following the end of the Emergency Allotment program in 2023. All regions except the East South Central and Mountain regions also saw declines in spend per trip and units per trip in the past year on shopping trips where SNAP or WIC benefits were used.
Visit our SNAP Insights Hub to learn more.
Numerator’s SNAP Insights Center brings together our latest research on shopping trips where SNAP / WIC benefits are leveraged and the households using these programs.