______________________________________________________________________________ 

Background 

One important measure of a program’s performance 

is the ability to reach its target population. This 

report – the latest in an annual series – presents 

estimates of the percentage of eligible persons, by 

State, who participated in the Supplemental 

Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during an 

average month in fiscal year 2008 and in the 2 

previous fiscal years. 

This report also presents estimates of State 

participation rates for eligible “working poor” 

individuals (persons in households with earnings) 

over the same period. Although SNAP provides an 

important support for working families, the 

working poor has participated at rates that are 

substantially below those for all eligible persons. 

The addition of State-by-State information on 

participation among the working poor enables a 

comparison of these rates to the overall 

participation rates. 

Nationally, the SNAP participation rate among all 

eligible persons was 67 percent (Leftin, 2010) in 

fiscal year 2008.1

 The participation rate for eligible 

working poor individuals was significantly lower 

(in a statistical sense) at 54 percent. 

Findings 

 SNAP participation rates for all eligible 

persons varied widely from State to State 

in fiscal year 2008. State participation 

rates ranged from a low of 46 percent to a 

high of 94 percent. 

 Twenty States had rates that were 

significantly higher than the national rate, 

and 19 States had rates that were significantly 

lower. 

 The gap between participation rates for all 

SNAP-eligible persons and the working poor 

widened across States. In fiscal year 2008, the 

participation rate for the working poor was 

significantly lower than the rate for all SNAPeligible persons in 37 States compared to 30 

States in the previous year. Working poor rates 

were not significantly different than the rate for 

all eligible persons in 14 States. 

 Some States had consistently high participation 

rates relative to other States in all 3 fiscal years. 

In each year from 2006 to 2008, the District of 

Columbia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, 

Missouri, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington and 

West Virginia had significantly higher 

participation rates than two-thirds of the States. 

 Some States had consistently low participation 

rates relative to other States. California, 

Colorado, Idaho, New Jersey, Nevada, Utah and 

Wyoming had significantly lower rates than twothirds of the States in all 3 fiscal years. 

 

 With some exceptions, a State that was ranked at 

the top or bottom of the distribution of 

participation rates for all eligible persons was 

similarly ranked for participation by working 

poor persons. 

REACHING THOSE IN NEED: STATE SUPPLEMENTAL 

NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM PARTICIPATION 

RATES IN 2008 -- SUMMARY 

Office of Research and Analysis December 2010
Page 2

The estimates are derived using a statistical 

approach known as shrinkage estimation, which 

draws on data from the Current Population Survey, 

American Community Survey, and administrative 

records. The shrinkage estimator averages direct 

sample estimates of participation rates with 

predictions from a regression model based on 

indicators of socioeconomic conditions. Shrinkage 

estimates are substantially more precise than direct 

sample estimates from the Current Population 

Survey. Nevertheless, the estimated participation 

rates are still based on fairly small samples of 

households in many States, and the uncertainty 

associated with these estimates is substantial. 

Users of these data should take the estimated 

confidence intervals into account when interpreting 

differences between States, within a State over 

time, and between estimates for all eligibles and the 

working poor. 

The numbers of persons eligible for SNAP benefits 

is estimated by applying SNAP eligibility rules to 

households in the Current Population Survey. In 

California, the estimate of eligible persons is 

adjusted to reflect the fact that about 1.2 million 

Supplemental Security Income recipients receive a 

small cash benefit for food assistance and are not 

legally eligible for SNAP benefits. Less than 

half of these recipients would be eligible for 

SNAP under current rules. 

For More Information 

Cunnyngham, Karen E., and Laura A. Castner. 

Reaching Those in Need: State Supplemental 

Nutrition Assistance Program Participation 

Rates in 2008. Prepared by Mathematica 

Policy Research for the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. 

December 2010. 

Leftin, Joshua. Trends in Supplemental 

Nutrition Assistance Program Participation 

Rates: 2001 to 2008. Prepared by Mathematica 

Policy Research for the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. June 

2010. 

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

Acknowledgement 

This summary was prepared by Christine 

Kissmer, Office of Research and Analysis, Food 

and Nutrition Service. 

 

1 After the release of the national 2008 SNAP participation rate in Leftin (2010), corrections to Missouri 

participation data resulted in a 0.5 percentage point drop in the national SNAP participation rate from 

66.8 percent to 66.3 percent. The analysis and results presented in Cunnyngham (2010) are based on the 

new data, and the corrected estimated national rate, rounded to 66 percent, appears in the tables and text.

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