This report – part of an annual series – presents estimates of the percentage of eligible persons, by state, who participated in SNAP during an average month in FY 2011 and in the two previous fiscal years. This report also presents estimates of state participation rates for eligible “working poor” individuals (people in eligible households with earnings) over the same period.

This annual report provides details on the demographic characteristics and economic circumstances of SNAP households at both the national and the state level.  In 2012, one-person households comprised more than half the caseload (50.3 percent) and the average SNAP household benefit declined by $7 to $274.