SNAP and Medicaid enrollment by state

The largest numbers of recipients

In an average month of fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), 42,142,184 people in the United States received SNAP, the food benefit once called food stamps. California had 5,474,022 of them, the most in the nation, followed by Texas (3,472,443), Florida (3,011,486) and New York (2,958,255). Wyoming had the fewest, 27,489¹.

Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) covered 73,654,215 people in June 2026, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The order at the top differs from SNAP: California (11,746,673) is followed by New York (6,410,729), well ahead of Texas (3,948,961) and Florida (3,565,369²). Texas has more SNAP participants than New York but far fewer Medicaid enrollees, although its population is much larger.

Counts mostly track population. To compare states, the shares of residents below are the better measure.

Per resident: New Mexico for SNAP, DC and New York for Medicaid

New Mexico has the highest SNAP share: 21.9% of residents, 9.6 percentage points above the US figure (12.3%) and higher than every bordering state (Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas). The District of Columbia (20.3%), Oregon (18.0%), Louisiana (17.7%) and Oklahoma (16.8%) complete the top five. The national share is 12.3%; 19 states, counting DC, are above it and 31 below, with the median state at 11.3%¹.

For Medicaid and CHIP the District of Columbia ranks first, with 34.6% of residents enrolled. New York's 32.0% is the highest of any state (the District of Columbia is higher), and New Mexico (31.8%), California (29.8%) and Oregon (29.7%) follow. Nationally, 21.5%² of residents were enrolled. The District of Columbia is a single city, so its shares compare a city with whole states that include suburbs and rural areas.

District of Columbia34.6%

New York32.0%

New Mexico31.8%

California29.8%

Oregon29.7%

Alaska28.3%

Louisiana27.7%

Kentucky27.6%

West Virginia27.5%

Hawaii27.4%

Rhode Island25.5%

North Carolina25.3%

Arkansas25.0%

Connecticut24.3%

Oklahoma24.1%

United States21.5%

Source: CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), State Medicaid and CHIP Applications, Eligibility Determinations, and Enrollment Data. Period: June 2026.

Show the numbers

State	Medicaid and CHIP enrollees (% of residents)
District of Columbia	34.6%
New York	32.0%
New Mexico	31.8%
California	29.8%
Oregon	29.7%
Alaska	28.3%
Louisiana	27.7%
Kentucky	27.6%
West Virginia	27.5%
Hawaii	27.4%
Rhode Island	25.5%
North Carolina	25.3%
Arkansas	25.0%
Connecticut	24.3%
Oklahoma	24.1%
United States	21.5%

The states where readers most often ask about these programs sit near the top of at least one list. Louisiana is 4th highest for SNAP and 7th highest for Medicaid, and on both measures it is higher than every bordering state (Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas). Kentucky's Medicaid share (27.6%) is higher than every bordering state (Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia)². West Virginia's SNAP share (15.4%) is higher than every bordering state (Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia)¹.

Two programs, two different orders

A state's SNAP rank is a poor guide to its Medicaid rank. Five states show the gap clearly:

• Arkansas: 7.7% on SNAP, 9th lowest and lower than every bordering state (Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas), but 25.0% on Medicaid, 13th highest. Its poverty rate (15.0% in 2025) was 7th highest.
• Alaska: 8.8% on SNAP (15th lowest) and 28.3% on Medicaid (6th highest).
• Texas: close to the national level on SNAP (11.0%, 1.3 percentage points below the US figure (12.3%)) but 4th lowest on Medicaid (12.5%), lower than every bordering state (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma).
• Massachusetts: 7th highest on SNAP (15.2%), higher than every bordering state (Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont), while its Medicaid share is the same as the US figure (21.5%).
• Mississippi: a poverty rate that was 2nd highest⁴ in 2025, a SNAP share the same as the US figure (12.3%)¹ and a Medicaid share 1.5 percentage points below the US figure (21.5%)².

Lowest on both: Utah, Wyoming and New Hampshire

Three states are in the bottom three for both programs, in different order. Wyoming has the lowest SNAP share (4.7%), lower than every bordering state (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Utah), and the second-lowest Medicaid share (10.2%). Utah has the lowest Medicaid share (9.2%), lower than every bordering state (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming), and the second-lowest SNAP share (5.0%). New Hampshire is third-lowest on both (5.4%¹ and 12.0%²).

By region, the lowest SNAP share in the Midwest is in Kansas and in the South in Arkansas¹; the lowest Medicaid share in the South is in Texas and in the Midwest in Kansas². Every region contains states on both sides of the national figure.

Medicaid enrollment fell in most states in the year to June 2026

National Medicaid and CHIP enrollment went from 78,223,314 in June 2025 to 73,654,215 in June 2026, a change of −5.8%. Only Iowa (1.0%), Missouri (0.6%) and South Dakota (0.3%²) enrolled more people at the end of the year than at the start.

The largest falls were in Indiana, where enrollment went from 1,683,055 to 1,380,785 (−18.0%, the lowest in the nation), Louisiana (−13.6%), California (−12.2%, from 13.4 million to 11.7 million) and Arizona (−10.1%). The median state changed by −3.8%². The national drop is larger than the median because California, the state with the most enrollees, fell much more than most states. The CMS data record how many people are enrolled, not why enrollment changed.

United States−5.8%

Ohio−6.9%

Alaska−7.2%

Kentucky−7.4%

South Carolina−7.6%

District of Columbia−7.8%

Michigan−8.5%

New Hampshire−8.5%

Rhode Island−9.2%

Arizona−10.1%

California−12.2%

Louisiana−13.6%

Indiana−18.0%

Source: CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), State Medicaid and CHIP Applications, Eligibility Determinations, and Enrollment Data. Period: June 2025 to June 2026.

Show the numbers

State	Medicaid and CHIP enrollment change
United States	−5.8%
Ohio	−6.9%
Alaska	−7.2%
Kentucky	−7.4%
South Carolina	−7.6%
District of Columbia	−7.8%
Michigan	−8.5%
New Hampshire	−8.5%
Rhode Island	−9.2%
Arizona	−10.1%
California	−12.2%
Louisiana	−13.6%
Indiana	−18.0%

Benefit amounts: Hawaii and Alaska

The average SNAP benefit was $189.36 per participant per month in fiscal 2025. Hawaii paid the most, $354.88 ($165.52 (87%) above the US figure ($189.36)), and Alaska came second with $318.16. All other states were between $216.54 in New York and $159.81 in Minnesota, the lowest in the nation. Across the country, SNAP benefits totaled $95.8 billion¹ in the fiscal year.

Hawaii$354.88

Alaska$318.16

New York$216.54

Tennessee$206.31

Massachusetts$200.45

South Carolina$199.21

Rhode Island$198.60

South Dakota$198.44

Missouri$196.81

Indiana$195.91

United States$189.36

Source: USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), SNAP Monthly State Participation and Benefit Summary, Fiscal Year 2025. Period: FY2025 (October 2024 to September 2025).

Show the numbers

State	Average SNAP benefit per person (monthly)
Hawaii	$354.88
Alaska	$318.16
New York	$216.54
Tennessee	$206.31
Massachusetts	$200.45
South Carolina	$199.21
Rhode Island	$198.60
South Dakota	$198.44
Missouri	$196.81
Indiana	$195.91
United States	$189.36

How poor are SNAP households?

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey asks households whether anyone received SNAP in the past year and records their income. Of households that received SNAP in 2025, 42.0% (±0.3 percentage points⁵) had income below the poverty line; the rest had incomes at or above it at the time of the survey.

That share varies widely. In Mississippi it was 57.4% (±3.1 percentage points), 15.4 percentage points above the US figure (42.0%). In California it was 34.1% (±0.8 percentage points), between 47th and 50th among the states, and in Delaware 27.1% (±5.5 percentage points), the lowest. Wyoming's estimate, 59.8%, has a margin of error of ±9.7 percentage points, so its rank can only be placed between 1st and 9th⁵. A low share means more SNAP households have incomes above the poverty line; it does not by itself say how many poor households go without SNAP.

Program records and survey answers

The SNAP and Medicaid figures in the ranking table are administrative counts: the people the programs actually served, reported by the states to the US Department of Agriculture and to CMS. The American Community Survey measures something different, what people say about their own household, and its totals run lower.

• SNAP. FNS records show 22,580,311¹ SNAP households a month in fiscal 2025. In the survey, 11.5% (±0.1 percentage points⁵) of households, or 15.4 million⁶, reported receiving SNAP at some point in 2025.
• Medicaid. In the survey, 16.6% (±0.1 percentage points) of the civilian population outside institutions reported Medicaid, CHIP or other means-tested coverage in 2025. For West Virginia the survey share was 21.3% (±0.9 percentage points), between 5th and 9th⁷.

Use the administrative counts to say how many people a program covers, and the survey when you need characteristics such as age, income or household type. Do not subtract one from the other.

Before you compare states

• "Welfare" can mean more than these two programs. Cash assistance (TANF), housing aid and Supplemental Security Income are separate programs and are not counted here.
• The two programs overlap. Many people receive SNAP and Medicaid at the same time. Adding the two shares double-counts them.
• Different periods. SNAP is an average month over fiscal year 2025; Medicaid is a single month, June 2026. Both shares use the July 1, 2025 population as the denominator.
• Medicaid includes CHIP. The enrollment figures combine Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program; 35.2 million² of the national total were children.
• Next update. This page will move to fiscal 2026 SNAP data and later Medicaid months as USDA and CMS publish them.