The Biden Administration and House Republicans recently reached a bi-partisan deal to raise the debt ceiling. To reach the compromise, and keep the United States from a catastrophic debt default, the White House agreed to a series of spending cuts to social safety net programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps. (Here is a look at the American presidents who added the most to the national debt.)
SNAP is a federal program designed to help needy families and households afford food. The debt ceiling deal includes considerable changes to SNAP eligibility, expanding work requirements for older Americans, while also expanding access for veterans and homeless populations.
According to the latest available data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, more than 15.8 million American households — or 12.4% of all households — received SNAP benefits in 2021. And exactly how many Americans would be directly impacted by the latest eligibility changes remains to be seen.
Of the 10 metro areas with available data in Illinois, Decatur has the highest SNAP recipiency rate. According to the ACS, 20.4% of all area households received SNAP benefits in 2021. Meanwhile, the SNAP recipiency rate across the state as a whole stands at 14.1%.
Of all 366 metro areas nationwide with available data, Decatur ranks as having the 26th highest SNAP recipiency rate.
StateMetro area with highest SNAP recipiency rateMetro area SNAP recipiency rate (%)State SNAP recipiency rate (%)Metro area(s) considered in stateAlabamaMobile19.514.112AlaskaAnchorage8.710.41ArizonaYuma22.311.27ArkansasFort Smith15.110.96CaliforniaEl Centro25.912.026ColoradoPueblo19.48.47ConnecticutNew Haven-Milford14.411.74DelawareDover12.910.51FloridaMiami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach18.614.121GeorgiaColumbus22.012.414HawaiiKahului-Wailuku-Lahaina11.412.62IdahoPocatello16.28.46IllinoisDecatur20.414.110IndianaKokomo13.89.411IowaDavenport-Moline-Rock Island15.89.87KansasWichita10.07.32KentuckyBowling Green15.514.25LouisianaLake Charles22.919.09MaineLewiston-Auburn13.511.53MarylandCumberland18.012.65MassachusettsSpringfield20.114.65MichiganSaginaw19.613.414MinnesotaDuluth9.47.95MississippiHattiesburg12.713.53MissouriSt. Joseph12.310.28MontanaGreat Falls11.58.63NebraskaOmaha-Council Bluffs9.28.53NevadaLas Vegas-Henderson-Paradise14.313.62New HampshireManchester-Nashua5.96.01New JerseyVineland-Bridgeton15.99.13New MexicoFarmington28.420.74New YorkBuffalo-Cheektowaga16.415.012North CarolinaGoldsboro25.513.915North DakotaFargo6.66.22OhioLima20.113.011OklahomaLawton13.413.83OregonGrants Pass24.715.98PennsylvaniaErie19.614.118Rhode IslandProvidence-Warwick16.414.91South CarolinaFlorence20.911.18South DakotaRapid City7.88.02TennesseeKingsport-Bristol15.311.910TexasMcAllen-Edinburg-Mission30.912.223UtahOgden-Clearfield6.35.64VermontBurlington-South Burlington9.910.91VirginiaVirginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News10.68.89WashingtonYakima23.912.310West VirginiaBeckley22.118.37WisconsinMilwaukee-Waukesha15.611.812WyomingN/AN/A5.50