SNAP Enrollment Was 36.35 million in June 2026: How Many People Are on Food Stamps?
USDA counted 36.35 million people receiving SNAP in June 2026, down 12.8% from 41.67 million in June 2025. Household food insecurity was 13.7% in 2024. Food-at-home prices were 32.0% higher in August 2026 than in January 2020. USDA participation and household-survey measures are shown beside two differently scoped BLS food-price series; the comparison does not turn them into one household pipeline.
How Many People Receive SNAP?
SNAP — still commonly called food stamps — served 36.35 million people in June 2026, down 12.8% from 41.67 million in June 2025, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service. It is the lowest of the monthly counts shown here, which start in 2022. USDA marks the latest two months as preliminary and subject to revision. The count is people in participating households in one month. It doesn't say why participation changed.
Separately, food-at-home prices were 32.0% higher in August 2026 than in January 2020, and household food insecurity was 13.7% in 2024. These measures use different populations, periods, and methods; neither establishes what caused the SNAP count. The grocery price statistics page documents food-at-home prices. The cost-of-living statistics page shows how food fits into the broader inflation picture. The American Distress Index currently reads 47.0. American Default Research tracks 105 indicators of household financial distress, including food insecurity and SNAP enrollment.
Key Statistics at a Glance
SNAP enrollment, household food insecurity, Food-at-Home prices, and the national personal saving rate provide different aggregate views. They do not identify the same people, establish which expense a household cut first, or prove that a change in the Safety Net & Buffer domain (20.0% weight) of the American Distress Index caused SNAP participation. The index currently reads 47.0 (Typical). The composite itself sits higher than 44% of all published quarters since 2005.
How Has SNAP Enrollment Changed?
USDA's monthly SNAP counts aren't seasonally adjusted, so the like-for-like comparison is the one above: June 2026 against the same month a year earlier. Pandemic emergency allotments ended nationwide after February 2023; the enrollment series alone does not establish how much that policy or any other single factor contributed to later changes.
The series changes form in October 2022. Readings through September 2022 are fiscal-year averages; readings from October 2022 forward are single-month counts. In fiscal year 2019, SNAP served an average of 35.7 million people a month. The latest monthly count is 2% above the fiscal year 2019 average-month count, but that sets one preliminary month beside a twelve-month average, so treat it as rough context rather than a measured change. The highest value in the stored series is 46.5 million in fiscal year 2014. Participation depends on income and household composition, federal and state eligibility policy, administrative access, and take-up. The October 2021 Thrifty Food Plan revision increased maximum allotments by about 21%; that benefit change is distinct from eligibility and enrollment. The enrollment series and the Food-at-Home CPI do not establish how many participants were added by price changes or any other single factor. The full enrollment history is on the SNAP enrollment indicator page.
SNAP Enrollment (Millions; Fiscal-Year Averages and Monthly Counts)
Source: USDA Food and Nutrition Service, SNAP participation data. Fiscal-year average monthly participation through FY 2022; individual monthly counts from October 2022. The two kinds of reading are not directly comparable.
Full data and trend: SNAP enrollment indicator page
What Share of U.S. Households Were Food Insecure?
USDA's Economic Research Service reports that 13.7% of U.S. households were food insecure at some time in 2024, about the same as the 13.5% in 2023. That means the household didn't have enough money or other resources to be sure of enough food for everyone; it is not a count of people who went hungry. The annual series does not identify why the rate changed or isolate the effect of any program.
The annual aggregate series does not isolate the effect of program changes from prices, income, household circumstances, or other factors. The household financial health statistics page tracks food insecurity alongside other household measures. 2024 is the latest USDA figure: USDA has announced it will not publish future reports from this survey.
U.S. Household Food Insecurity Rate (%, Annual)
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, Household Food Security in the United States (annual, national). USDA has announced no further reports; 2024 is the latest year.
Full data and trend: food insecurity rate indicator page
What Have Food Prices Done Since January 2020?
The BLS Food-at-Home price index was 32.0% higher in August 2026 than in January 2020, seasonally adjusted. That's a total change over more than six years, not a yearly rate, and it measures prices, not what households spent. Actual SNAP allotments, household purchases, benefit timing, and local prices differ.
Separately, the broader all-food CPI (CUSR0000SAF1), covering food at home and away from home, was up 2.6% year over year in August 2026, a slower 12-month rise than the 3.2% in August 2025. A positive rate means food prices were still higher than a year earlier. It is not a grocery-only rate, and neither food-price series measures meal quality, food-bank use, or a SNAP benefit shortfall. The food-price statistics page keeps the two scopes separate.
Food-at-Home Prices: Change Since January 2020 (%)
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index — Food at Home (CUSR0000SAF11). Cumulative percentage change from January 2020 baseline.
Full data and trend: grocery cumulative CPI indicator page
What Do These Food-Assistance Measures Establish?
Food-at-Home CPI measures prices in a national market basket. USDA's household food-security survey measures access to adequate food. SNAP participation counts people receiving a program benefit. The series cover different populations and periods, and none follows individual households from a price change to food insecurity to enrollment.
SNAP enrollment is also shaped by eligibility rules, benefit policy, administrative access, and take-up. The available aggregates do not establish a typical 6–12 month response, a fixed order of household adjustments, or one dominant explanation for enrollment and food-insecurity changes after emergency allotments ended. For broader context, the financial-hardship page presents other measures with their populations and limitations.
Participation Is Not a Countdown
The SNAP series combines fiscal-year average monthly participation through September 2022 with single-month counts beginning in October 2022. Its high and low points don't prove a common lag, identify the effect of one policy, or show that participants first used up their savings. Policy, eligibility, access, take-up, income, and household composition can all affect participation.
Savings capacity and food-assistance participation provide different views of household pressure. Enrollment is also shaped by eligibility rules, administrative access, and take-up, so our current research does not show the index's Safety Net & Buffer domain leading SNAP demand by a fixed time.
Explore savings-rate and emergency-expense context →Data Sources and Methodology
CPI measurement basis: Every CPI reading and historical comparison on this page uses its source-owned basis unless explicitly identified otherwise: Year-over-year percent change computed from the seasonally adjusted BLS Food CPI (CUSR0000SAF1); seasonally adjusted values may be revised; Cumulative percent change since January 2020 computed from the seasonally adjusted BLS Food-at-Home CPI (CUSR0000SAF11); seasonally adjusted values may be revised.
USDA Food and Nutrition Service
SNAP participation data from the USDA FNS data tables. Covers the 50 states plus DC, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; Puerto Rico receives a separate nutrition assistance grant. Counts people in participating households in a month, as reported by state agencies. Recent tables have come out a few months after the month they cover, and the latest months are preliminary.
USDA Economic Research Service
The national household food insecurity rate, measured through the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement each December. The standard reference for food insecurity measurement in the United States. USDA has announced it will not publish future reports, so the 2024 report is the latest. USDA ERS food security data.
BLS Consumer Price Index — Food at Home
Series CUSR0000SAF11. Tracks price change for food purchased for home consumption, excluding restaurant meals. Used here to compute the total change in food-at-home prices since January 2020. Monthly, seasonally adjusted.
BLS Consumer Price Index — Food
Series CUSR0000SAF1. The broader all-food CPI category includes food at home and food away from home. Its year-over-year change is shown separately and is not labeled as a grocery-only rate. Monthly, seasonally adjusted.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people are on food stamps in 2026?
USDA counted 36.35 million people in households receiving SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits in June 2026, down 12.8% from 41.67 million in June 2025. USDA marks the latest two months as preliminary and subject to revision. The count covers the 50 states, DC, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; Puerto Rico runs a separate nutrition program. The count reports participation, not a cause: the tables don't say why it moved. The full time series is on the SNAP enrollment indicator page.
What is the current food insecurity rate?
USDA's Economic Research Service put the household food insecurity rate at 13.7% in 2024, about the same as the 13.5% in 2023. That's a share of households that, at some time in the year, didn't have enough money or other resources to be sure of enough food for everyone. ERS doesn't attribute the level or its changes to any one relief program, policy expiration, or price measure. 2024 is the latest USDA figure; USDA has announced it will not publish future reports from this survey. See the food insecurity indicator for full history.
Has SNAP enrollment returned to pre-pandemic levels?
USDA's figure for fiscal year 2019 is a twelve-month average: 35.7 million people a month. The latest figure, 36.35 million for June 2026, is a single month's count, and the latest months are preliminary. Because one is a yearly average and the other one month, the gap between them is rough context, not a measured change. The like-for-like comparison is with the same month a year earlier: the count was down 12.8% from 41.67 million in June 2025. Participation also depends on income and household composition, federal and state eligibility rules, benefit policy, administrative access, and take-up. Food-at-Home prices are a separate aggregate series and do not show how many additional people qualified for or enrolled in SNAP.
How do grocery prices affect food insecurity?
Food-at-home prices were 32.0% higher in August 2026 than in January 2020 in the seasonally adjusted BLS index CUSR0000SAF11. That's a total change over more than six years, not a yearly rate, and it doesn't describe any one household's grocery bill because purchase mixes, starting costs, income, benefits, and access differ. SNAP allotments are tied to the Thrifty Food Plan and are updated on a policy schedule. These series do not, by themselves, quantify a benefit shortfall or attribute food insecurity among participants to price changes.
Who qualifies for SNAP benefits?
SNAP eligibility is primarily based on household income and size. The general federal rule is gross monthly income at or below 130% of the federal poverty level and net income (after deductions for housing, childcare, and other expenses) at or below 100% of the poverty level; the dollar limits change each federal fiscal year. Many states use broad-based categorical eligibility, which can raise the income limit or remove the asset test. Some adults without dependents face a time limit on benefits unless they meet work requirements or qualify for an exemption. Your state SNAP agency applies the current rules to your situation.
How does food assistance connect to the American Distress Index?
SNAP enrollment and food insecurity are context for the American Distress Index, while the aggregate personal saving rate is an input to its Safety Net & Buffer domain. The measures use different populations, units, periods, and institutions; they do not track the same households or establish that one follows another. The index currently reads 47.0 (Typical). The composite itself sits higher than 44% of all published quarters since 2005. For the full composite methodology, see the American Distress Index page.