Report Series - National and State-Level Estimates of WIC Eligibility and Program Reach

Series Overview

USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) serves to safeguard the health of eligible pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, as well as infants and children up to age five by providing supplemental foods, health care referrals, nutrition education, and breastfeeding promotion and support. Eligibility for WIC is based on income at or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPGs) and the identification of at least one nutrition risk. Participants receive electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards for prescribed foods and redeem them at authorized retail vendors at no charge.

This series of annual reports presents national and state-level estimates of the number of people eligible to receive WIC benefits and the percentage of the eligible population and the general U.S. population participating in WIC. The reports present estimates by demographic and household characteristics and participant category at the national level, and overall estimates at the state level. These annual studies examine how well WIC reaches eligible women, infants, and children. Results are used in the budget process to support program management and to address program performance.

Series Reports

Below, you can access published reports that go back to 2000. Publication date is included in parentheses next to each calendar year (CY). Please look at most recent report as older reports may not be comparable due to methodological changes. The most recent report replicates the latest methodology to reproduce estimates going back to CY 2016.

Latest Report Available

CY 2023 (December 2025)

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