---
title: "SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment"
slug: snap-food-stamp-enrollment
summary: "36.09 million people on SNAP in July 2026, down from 41.6 million a year earlier"
category: "Warning Signs"
unit: count
frequency: monthly
direction: not_applicable
latest_value: 36087667
latest_period: "2026-07"
trend: falling
last_updated: "2026-11-04T21:30:42Z"
source: "U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Administration"
source_url: https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap
canonical_html: https://americandefault.org/indicators/snap-food-stamp-enrollment/
citation_apa: "Kilburn, R. (2026). SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/snap-food-stamp-enrollment/"
citation_chicago: "Kilburn, Ross. 2026. \"SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment.\" American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/snap-food-stamp-enrollment/."
citation_mla: "Kilburn, Ross. \"SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment.\" American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/snap-food-stamp-enrollment/."
---

# SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment

> 36.09 million people on SNAP in July 2026, down from 41.6 million a year earlier

## Current Reading

As of July 2026, SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment is **36.09 million** (falling).

enrolled in the latest FNS month

## What Changed

- USDA counted 36.09 million people in households receiving SNAP benefits in July 2026, down from 41.6 million a year earlier.
- The count was 36.52 million in June 2026; the counts are not adjusted for seasonal patterns, so part of a one-month move can be seasonal.
- The lowest monthly count in USDA's current tables since our monthly series starts in 2022.

## Recent Values

| Period | Value |
|--------|-------|
| 2026-07 | 36.088M |
| 2026-06 | 36.522M |
| 2026-05 | 36.726M |
| 2026-04 | 37.109M |
| 2026-03 | 37.531M |
| 2026-02 | 37.947M |
| 2026-01 | 38.552M |
| 2025-12 | 39.208M |
| 2025-11 | 40M |
| 2025-10 | 40.672M |
| 2025-09 | 41.208M |
| 2025-08 | 41.416M |

## Historical Context

This series is not comparable end to end, so no all-time extreme or long-run average is published for it. The source changed what it measures on the following date(s):

- October 2022: Readings through September 2022 are annual fiscal-year figures dated to the September 30 fiscal-year end. From October 2022 the series carries USDA's individual monthly participation counts, so a reading before this date summarises a whole year and a reading after it counts one month. Source: https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap

Compare readings only within a single segment. Subtracting across one of these dates measures the change in method, not in household conditions.

## Methodology

This indicator carries monthly observations and is interpreted as measuring something other than household condition, so neither end of the range reads as household distress. Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Administration.
Automation: collected automatically on the daily refresh pipeline, with no hand entry.

## Source

U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Administration — [https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap](https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap)

Data retrieved: 2026-11-04T21:30:42Z

## Related Indicators

- [the-buffer](https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-buffer/)
- [the-safety-net](https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-safety-net/)

## Machine-Readable Endpoints

- HTML page: https://americandefault.org/indicators/snap-food-stamp-enrollment/
- JSON: https://americandefault.org/api/indicators/snap-food-stamp-enrollment.json
- CSV: https://americandefault.org/api/downloads/snap-food-stamp-enrollment.csv
- BibTeX: https://americandefault.org/citations/snap-food-stamp-enrollment.bib
- RIS: https://americandefault.org/citations/snap-food-stamp-enrollment.ris

## Citation

**APA 7th**

    Kilburn, R. (2026). SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/snap-food-stamp-enrollment/

**Chicago (author-date)**

    Kilburn, Ross. 2026. "SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment." American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/snap-food-stamp-enrollment/.

**MLA 9th**

    Kilburn, Ross. "SNAP (Food Stamp) Enrollment." American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/snap-food-stamp-enrollment/.

Use **American Default Research** as the institutional name in source lists, bibliographies, and press citations. **American Default** is the brand and URL form. **American Distress Index (ADI)** is the product name for the national composite score.