SNAP Program Access Index | Food and Nutrition Service

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Research and Data

Program Data

Resource Materials

PAI 2023 (190.42 KB)

PAI 2022 (158.29 KB)

PAI 2021 (156.20 KB)

PAI 2019 (64.13 KB)

PAI 2018 (64.14 KB)

PAI 2017 (21.53 KB)

PAI 2016 (396.72 KB)

PAI 2015 (186.46 KB)

PAI 2014 (110.18 KB)

PAI 2013 (165.01 KB)

PAI 2012 (666.02 KB)

PAI 2011 (197.63 KB)

PAI 2010 (112.41 KB)

PAI 2009 (64.96 KB)

PAI 2008 (72.31 KB)

PAI 2007 (62.04 KB)

PAI 2006 (57.91 KB)

PAI 2005 (63.08 KB)

PAI 2004 (59.60 KB)

PAI 2003 (57.77 KB)

The Program Access Index (PAI) is designed to indicate the degree to which low-income people have access to SNAP benefits. The PAI is not, strictly speaking, a measure of participation among people eligible for SNAP benefits. It is a simple index of the average monthly number of SNAP participants (excluding disaster assistance recipients) over the course of a calendar year to the number of people with income below 125 percent of the official poverty line in each state.

States may have a PAI above 1.0 because the 125 percent poverty estimate does not fully capture all people eligible for SNAP. The SNAP gross income limit is 130 percent of poverty, and it is higher in some states. Additionally, households with members who are elderly or have a disability may be eligible for SNAP with gross incomes above 130 percent of poverty.

SNAP Program Access Index 2023¹

State	2023 PAI	2023 PAI Rank	2022 PAI	Improvement	Improvement Rank
Alabama	0.771	28	0.752	0.0186	25
Alaska	0.562	43	0.719	-0.1571	51
Arizona	0.776	27	0.723	0.0528	10
Arkansas	0.391	50	0.403	-0.0112	37
California	0.890	14	0.784	0.1066	2
Colorado	0.835	24	0.779	0.0562	8
Connecticut	0.856	20	0.836	0.0208	24
Delaware	0.939	10	0.954	-0.0153	39
District of Columbia	1.320	1	1.372	-0.0515	46
Florida	0.855	21	0.779	0.0754	3
Georgia	0.793	26	0.904	-0.1107	50
Hawaii	0.885	16	0.878	0.0070	31
Idaho	0.482	47	0.444	0.0382	17
Illinois	1.119	4	1.065	0.0536	9
Indiana	0.565	42	0.565	-0.0006	34
Iowa	0.573	41	0.617	-0.0435	45
Kansas	0.442	48	0.437	0.0049	32
Kentucky	0.601	37	0.594	0.0073	30
Louisiana	0.852	23	0.783	0.0688	4
Maine	0.893	12	0.885	0.0081	28
Maryland	0.939	9	0.954	-0.0155	40
Massachusetts	1.233	2	1.182	0.0515	12
Michigan	0.873	18	0.813	0.0605	6
Minnesota	0.673	33	0.639	0.0343	18
Mississippi	0.587	40	0.579	0.0076	29
Missouri	0.685	31	0.638	0.0472	13
Montana	0.496	46	0.516	-0.0205	42
Nebraska	0.588	39	0.550	0.0382	16
Nevada	0.995	7	0.882	0.1131	1
New Hampshire	0.599	38	0.534	0.0645	5
New Jersey	0.683	32	0.738	-0.0550	47
New Mexico	0.990	8	1.067	-0.0775	49
New York	0.853	22	0.827	0.0257	21
North Carolina	0.881	17	0.890	-0.0084	36
North Dakota	0.506	45	0.447	0.0590	7
Ohio	0.724	30	0.758	-0.0335	44
Oklahoma	0.862	19	0.840	0.0216	22
Oregon	1.125	3	1.124	0.0010	33
Pennsylvania	1.005	5	0.966	0.0383	15
Rhode Island	1.002	6	0.972	0.0299	19
South Carolina	0.655	34	0.671	-0.0158	41
South Dakota	0.549	44	0.528	0.0212	23
Tennessee	0.601	36	0.678	-0.0766	48
Texas	0.619	35	0.652	-0.0327	43
Utah	0.407	49	0.423	-0.0152	38
Vermont	0.892	13	0.839	0.0524	11
Virginia	0.759	29	0.712	0.0471	14
Washington	0.899	11	0.899	-0.0006	35
West Virginia	0.818	25	0.791	0.0266	20
Wisconsin	0.889	15	0.872	0.0172	26
Wyoming	0.356	51	0.346	0.0099	27

	2023 PAI		2022 PAI	Improvement	Improvement Rank
US Total	0.800		0.779	0.0203	48

¹States may have a PAI above 1.0 because some households with income above 125 percent of poverty are eligible for SNAP. The SNAP gross income limit is 130 percent of poverty, and some States use a higher income limit.