Americans with SNAP benefits falls to 38 million

The number of people in the U.S. enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the course of a year declined for several years before rebounding in 2020 and stabilizing in 2021 at more than 42 million. Following policy changes in 2025, this number had fallen to about 38 million by February 2026.

Line graph showing the growth and reduction in the number of Americans getting SNAP benefits over time.

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This data includes aid through the food stamps program, which SNAP replaced. All numbers shown are subject to revision. The 2026 number is for February 2026.

Chart: The Conversation, CC-BY-NDSource: U.S. Department of AgricultureGet the dataDownload imageCreated with Datawrapper