U.S. Map of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by County

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

The map above shows the number of households per county, the number of households with SNAP benefits per county, the number of households with SNAP benefits and children in the household, and its respective percentages.

The map represents households, not people!

"SNAP provides food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford the nutritious food essential to health and well-being". Source: Food and Nutrition Service.

SNAP also helps families with children, seniors, or people with disabilities.

According to this data, from the American Community Survey betweeen 2019 and 2023, 23% of the households received SNAP benefits.

Of those, 7.6% had children at home.

Map of Fair Market Rent in the USA

Who Gets SNAP?

Besides being low income, SNAP is families need to be under poverty line and an elderly person or a child.

It is for families who prepare food together. Unemployed people without minors are limited to 3 months of benefits every 3 years.

This is also for U.S. citizens, people that are not on strike, and are not college students.

People that apply for SNAP need to follow federal guidelines and receive an electronice benefit transfer card.

SNAP benefits are accepted by a few retailers, and cannot be used for alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, vitamin supplements, or hot foods.

According to Cbpp 41 million people recieved SNAP nationwide in 2024.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that in a weak economy, $1 in SNAP benefits generates $1.50 in economic activity. Source Cbpp.org

If you want to learn more about SNAP benefits, Amazon has SNAP Matters: How Food Stamps Affect Health and Well-Being (Studies in Social Inequality).

This book concludes that SNAP is highly responsive to macroeconomic pressures and is one of the most effective antipoverty programs in the safety net, but the volume also encourages policymakers, students, and researchers to continue examining this major pillar of social assistance in America.

Counties with More SNAP Households

The top counties with SNAP beneficiaries are:

• Los Angeles County, California
• Cook County, Illinois
• Harris County, Texas
• Kings County, New York
• Miami Dade, Florida

Counties with More SNAP Households and Kids

The top counties with SNAP beneficiaries and kids are:

• Los Angeles County, California
• Harris County, Texas
• Cook County, Illinois
• Kings County, New York
• Miami Dade, Florida

Map of Mobile Homes in the U.S.

Percentage of Households with SNAP

The top counties with SNAP benefits by percentage are in Puerto Rico, followed by:

• Bethel Census Area, Alaska
• Starr County, Texas
• Randolph County, Georgia
• Zavala County, Texas
• Issaquena County, Mississippi

Percentage of Households with SNAP and Kids

The top counties with SNAP benefits by percentage are in:

• Bethel Census Area, Alaska
• Todd County, South Dakota
• Zavala County, Texas
• Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota
• Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska

Resources for SNAP Map

The Shapefiles for the states were downloaded from Natural Earth.

The county shapefiles were downloaded from the US Census Bureau.

The SNAP data was downloaded with R: R Core Team (2021). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL https://www.R-project.org/.

The data was downloaded with the following packages tidycensus and tidyverse.

The data is from the American Community Survey between 2019 and 2023

Made by Luz K with D3.js.

This map will be updated with improved and recent information! To receive updates on this and more nature maps, join my email list!!!!!!!

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