ko 

Background 

In an average month in 2009, about 33.7 million 

people living in 15.2 million U.S. households 

participated in the Supplemental Nutrition 

Assistance Program (SNAP). 

SNAP households are a diverse group. Because 

benefits are available to most low-income 

households with few resources, regardless of age, 

disability status, or family structure, recipients 

represent a broad cross-section of the Nation's 

poor. This report provides information about the 

demographic and economic circumstances of 

SNAP households in fiscal year 2009. Of note, 

the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 

2009 (ARRA) increased SNAP maximum 

allotments by 13.6 percent beginning on April 1, 

2009.

Findings: General Characteristics 

Most SNAP recipients were children or elderly. 

Nearly half (48 percent) were children and another 

8 percent were age 60 or older. Working-age 

women represented 28 percent of the caseload, 

while working-age men represented 16 percent. 

 

Many SNAP recipients had jobs. More than 29 

percent of SNAP households had earnings in 2009, 

and 40 percent of all SNAP participants lived in a 

household with earnings. For these households, 

earnings were the primary source of income. 

 

The majority of SNAP households did not 

receive cash welfare benefits. Less than 10 

percent of all SNAP households received 

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 

(TANF) benefits and another 5 percent received 

State General Assistance (GA) benefits. About 24 

percent of SNAP households received 

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and 

over 22 percent received Social Security. 

 

SNAP households had little income. Only 14 

percent had income above the poverty line, while 

more than 41 percent had incomes at, or below, 

half the poverty line. Nearly 18 percent had no 

cash income of any kind. The typical SNAP 

household had gross income of $711 per month. 

More than 27 percent of monthly funds (gross 

income plus SNAP benefits) available to a typical 

household came from SNAP. 

The average SNAP household received a 

monthly benefit of $272. More than 37 percent 

received the maximum benefit for their family size 

--$588 for a family of four during the first half of 

the year and $668 after the implementation of 

ARRA. Just over 4 percent received the minimum 

benefit available to households with one or two 

members in 2009. The minimum benefit was $14 

during the first half of the year and increased to 

$16 with ARRA. Most households (81 percent) 

receiving the minimum benefit contained elderly 

or disabled members and were likely to receive 

Supplemental Security Income or Social Security. 

SNAP households had few resources. The 

average SNAP household possessed only about 

$101 in countable resources (including the 

nonexcluded portion of vehicles and the entire 

value of checking and savings accounts and other 

savings). A majority of SNAP households (78 

percent) had no countable resources. However, it 

should be noted that many (66 percent) SNAP 

households were categorically eligible and thus 

neither subject to the asset test nor required to 

provide information about their assets. 

Two-thirds of SNAP households were 

categorically eligible and not subject to the 

asset test. Households are categorically eligible 

for SNAP if all members receiving TANF, SSI, or 

GA benefits or the household resides in a State 

that has implemented a broad-based categorical 

eligibility policy. In 2009, 27 percent of SNAP 

households were categorically eligible by virtue of 

their TANF, SSI, or GA participation and another 

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION 

ASSISTANCE PROGRAM HOUSEHOLDS: FISCAL YEAR 2009 

SUMMARY

Office of Research and Analysis October 2010 
38 percent lived in a State with a broad-based 

policy. 

Most SNAP households were small. The 

average SNAP household size was 2.2 persons, 

but varied considerably by household composition. 

Households with children were larger, averaging 

3.3 members. Households with elderly 

participants were smaller, with an average of 1.3 

members. 

Findings: Changes Over Time 

There have been several notable changes in the 

characteristics of SNAP households between 1989 

and 2009. Some of the most striking changes are 

noted here. 

The primary source of income among SNAP 

participants shifted from welfare to work. In 

1989, 42 percent of all SNAP households received 

cash welfare benefits and only 20 percent had 

earnings. In 2009, less than 10 percent received 

cash welfare, while 29 percent had earnings. 

The percentage of households with no cash 

income of any kind more than doubled. In 

1989, 7 percent of SNAP households had zero 

gross income. This increased to nearly 18 percent 

in 2009. Similarly, the percentage of SNAP 

households with zero net income, who received 

the maximum benefit, rose from 18 percent in 

1990 to 37 percent in 2009. 

The average SNAP household’s income 

remained close to 60 percent of the poverty 

level. When SNAP participation levels decline, 

average household income rises slightly. 

Conversely, income falls when participation levels 

increase. However, the variation is small, ranging 

from an average income that is 56 percent of 

poverty, when caseloads were rising rapidly in 

1993, to 63 percent of the poverty level in 2000, 

when caseloads were low. 

Households have gotten smaller. In 1990, the 

average SNAP household contained 2.6 persons. 

In 2009, the average had fallen to 2.2 persons. 

During this period, households with one person 

rose from 32 percent of all households to over 46 

percent. 

The percentage of participants who are 

children remained fairly steady. In 1990, half of 

participants were under age 18, about the same 

percentage as in 2009. However, the share of 

households with children fell from 60 percent in 

1990 to 50 percent in 2009. This is primarily due 

to an increase in single-person households.

 Information

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition 

Service, Office of Research and Analysis, 

Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 

Program Households: Fiscal Year 2009, by Joshua 

Leftin, Andrew Gothro, and Esa Eslami. Project 

Officer, Jenny Genser. Alexandria, VA: 2010. 

Available online at www.fns.usda.gov/ora. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of 

race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, 

religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s 

income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with 

disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, 

etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). 

To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, 

S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal 

opportunity provider and employer.