Upstream Pressure

SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment

41.7M — down from 42.2M a year ago; still 5 million above pre-pandemic levels

What is the current SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment?

SNAP (FOOD STAMP) ENROLLMENT
41,700,000 ↑ Worsening
41.7 million Americans on SNAP — 17% above pre-pandemic leve
One year ago
42,200,000 ↓ Improving
down 500000.00 since Sep 2023

SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment: 41,700,000 as of 2024-09, and worsening. Source: USDA Food and Nutrition Service.

41.7 million Americans on SNAP — 17% above pre-pandemic levels

Enrollment never returned to 2019 lows despite pandemic program expirations.

Source: USDA Food and Nutrition Service · Latest: 2024-09

Explore Further

How has SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment changed over time?

CSV Chart Card
SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment over time
SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment, count
SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment
Historical data
Monthly · USDA Food and Nutrition Service
Period Value YoY Change
Sep 2024 41,700,000 −500000.00
Sep 2023 42,200,000 +1000000.00
Sep 2022 41,200,000 −400000.00
Sep 2021 41,600,000 +1700000.00
Sep 2020 39,900,000 +4200000.00
Sep 2019 35,700,000 −4000000.00
Sep 2018 39,700,000 −2400000.00
Sep 2017 42,100,000 −2100000.00
Sep 2016 44,200,000 −1600000.00
Sep 2015 45,800,000 −700000.00
Sep 2014 46,500,000

Frequently Asked Questions

What is SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment?

41.7M — down from 42.2M a year ago; still 5 million above pre-pandemic levels

Why does SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment matter for financial distress?

SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment is one of the indicators tracked by the American Distress Index (ADI), which measures five dimensions of U.S. household financial distress: Buffer Depletion, Debt Stress, Financial Conditions, Cost Pressure, and Labor Market disruption. Changes in this indicator contribute to the overall distress picture.

Where does the SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment data come from?

This data comes from USDA Food and Nutrition Service. More information: https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap. The American Distress Index updates this indicator monthly.

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Why does SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment matter?

SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment is one of 91 indicators in the American Distress Index's upstream pressure layer — the signal that predicted the 2008 crisis two years before delinquency data confirmed it.
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