1

Background

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for 

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides 

food, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, 

and referrals to health care and social services to 

nutritionally at-risk, low-income pregnant women; 

new mothers; infants; and children through age 4.

This report offers updated estimates of the number 

of people eligible for WIC benefits in 2011, 

including (1) estimates by participant category

(including children by single year of age) and 

coverage rates; (2) updated estimates in U.S. 

territories; and (3) confidence intervals.

Methodology

The national estimates presented below are based 

on a methodology developed in 2003 by the 

Committee on National Statistics of the National 

Research Council (CNSTAT). The report’s Statelevel estimates use a methodology developed by the 

Urban Institute that apportions the national figures

using data from the American Community Survey.

The estimates consider poverty level, adjunctive 

income eligibility (e.g., due to participation in the 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or 

Medicaid), national estimates of nutritional risk,

and State-level estimates of duration of 

breastfeeding.

The estimates presented in this report are the 

second set of WIC eligibles estimates that reflect 

the results from the 2010 Census, which show 

fewer infants and young children in the U.S. 

population than the previous, intercensal Census 

estimates. Estimates before 2010 were extrapolated 

from the 2000 Census.1 Therefore, the estimates in 

 

1

See U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of 

Policy Support, National and State-Level Estimates of Special 

Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) 

Eligibles and Program Reach, 2000-2009, Betson, et al, December 2011, 

<http://www.fns.usda.gov/ops/wic-studies>.

this report are not directly comparable to estimates 

in this series published before 2010.

Results: WIC Eligible Population

 FNS estimates that the average monthly 

WIC-eligible population totaled 14.28 million 

in 2011.

 Children ages 1 to 4 made up more than

60 percent of the eligible population.

Results: WIC Coverage Rates

The percentage of the eligible population that 

receives WIC benefits is the program’s “coverage 

rate.”

 In the average month of 2011, WIC served an 

estimated 62.7 percent of those eligible for 

WIC, essentially unchanged from 2010.

 For the first time, we estimate that the 

number of eligible breastfeeding women 

exceeded the number of eligible 

nonbreastfeeding women, due to substantial 

increases in the estimated breastfeeding rates

for both WIC and non-WIC mothers from 

2010 to 2011. WIC participation for these Participant Group

# Eligible 

(Millions)

% of All 

Eligibles

# ParticipatingCoverage 

Rate

Infants 2.52 17.6% 2.10 83.4%

Total Children Ages 1-4 8.89 62.3% 4.76 53.6%

Children Age 1a2.33 16.3%

Children Age 2a2.15 15.1%

Children Age 3a2.18 15.3%

Children Age 4a2.23 15.6%

Pregnant Women 1.29 9.1% 0.90 69.5%

Postpartum Women 1.58 11.1% 1.20 76.0%

 Breastfeeding Women 0.81 5.7% 0.58 71.1%

 Nonbreastfeeding Women 0.77 5.4% 0.62 81.2%

All Participant Groups 14.28 100.0% 8.96 62.7%

*Calendar Year

WIC Eligibles and Coverage by Participant Group, CY* 2011

a

 WIC coverage rates for children by single year of age are not provided 

because participation data are not available by single year of age.

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN (WIC)

ELIGIBLES AND COVERAGE – 2011: NATIONAL AND STATE-LEVEL ESTIMATES SUMMARY

Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support March 2014
2

subgroups remained relatively flat, however, 

meaning that we estimate a lower coverage 

rate for breastfeeding women and a higher 

rate for nonbreastfeeding women in 2011

than in 2010.

 For more than a decade, WIC’s overall 

estimated coverage rate has fluctuated in a 

narrow range from 56 to 63 percent.

 Regional coverage rates have also remained 

relatively stable over time, with the Mountain 

Plains region having the lowest coverage rate

(between 50 and 54 percent) and the Western 

region having the highest coverage rate 

(between 63 and 74 percent).

 The coverage rate for WIC-eligible infants 

was 83 percent in the average month of 2011, 

while the coverage rate for WIC-eligible 

children continued to lag behind all other 

participant groups, at about 54 percent.

 Coverage rates vary substantially by State, as 

demonstrated by the map below. (Note: care 

must be taken in interpreting State eligibles 

estimates, especially for States with small 

populations; confidence intervals for these 

States are larger.)

Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

Coverage Rates for All Participants by State, CY 2011

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support. National and State-Level 

Estimates of Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Eligibles and 

Program Reach, 2011, by Paul Johnson, Linda Giannarelli, Erika Huber, and David Betson. Project Officer: 

Grant Lovellette. Alexandria, VA: March 2014.

64%

82%

44%

51%

60%

56%

50%

53%

64%

48%

70%

49%

56 %

54%

66%

52%

63%

57%

66%

58%

51%

58%

52%

59%

61%

56%

56%

60%

57%

54%

61%

58%

67%

59%

55%

60%

56%

57%

67%

Coverage Rate,

All Participants

49.9 percent or less

50 – 59.9 percent

60 – 69.9 percent

70 percent or greater

64%

CT: 51%

DE: 63%

DC: 67%

MA: 60%

MD: 71%

NH: 54%

NJ: 60%

RI: 65%

VT: 87%

71%

84%

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

65%