Table 1 (Excel) (65.84 KB)
Table 1 (PDF) (176.14 KB)
Table 2 (Excel) (62.04 KB)
Table 2 (PDF) (80.62 KB)
Table 3 (Excel) (67.57 KB)
Table 3 (PDF) (100.41 KB)
Table 4 (Excel) (47.50 KB)
Table 4 (PDF) (79.38 KB)
Racial Enrollment Pie Chart (438.84 KB)
Racial/Ethnic Data Used in the Report
WIC racial/ethnic data was collected as part of the WIC Participant and Program Characteristics (PC) 2018, conducted by Insight Policy Research for the Food and Nutrition Service. Data was reported by 90 WIC state agencies based on reports submitted by nearly 1,800 WIC local agencies.
The state-reported racial/ethnic PC 2018 data contain WIC enrollment information for the five (5) racial categories required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The PC 2018 report defines the five categories as: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White. Multiple racial identifications, which are reported as Two or More Races, are permitted. Together, these make up 99.9 percent of enrollment, with the remaining 0.1 percent as Race Not Reported. Caution should be used in comparing results across groups; missing data must always be considered in gauging differences between, among, or across groups or categories of WIC participants.
Please note that WIC enrollment differs from WIC participation. WIC enrollment is defined as individuals certified to receive WIC benefits for specific time periods, including individuals who did not claim the food instruments issued during those time periods. Whereas, WIC participation is defined in program regulations as the number of individuals who picked up food instruments during the designated time periods.
Highlights
Enrollment in the WIC program in April 2018 totaled 7,837,672*.
| Racial Category | Participants | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Participant Category | Participants | Percentage |
| Whites Blacks/African Americans American Indian/Alaskan Natives Multiple Race Asians Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders Race Not Reported | 4,609,636 1,687,947 696,174 476,797 296,303 63,639 7,175 | 58.81% 21.54% 8.88% 6.08% 3.78% 0.81% 0.09% |
| Total | 7,837,671 | 99.99% |
| Women Infants Children | 1,817,388 1,868,344 4,151,940 | 23.19% 23.84% 52.97% |
| Total | 7,837,672 | 100.00% |
*These data represent nearly complete counts of all women, infants, and children enrolled in the WIC program in April 2018. Percent may not add to 100.0% and subtotals may not add to totals due to rounding and to the use of weights in the case of several WIC state agencies that either under- or over-reported the number of participants.
For a more complete discussion of the WIC reporting system and analytic methodology, please see the above report, which is also available at: https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/wic-participant-and-program-characteristics-2018.