The U.S. spent $1.74 trillion on major safety net programs in fiscal year 2023. In the same period, SNAP delivered $117.9 billion in benefits, with electronic payments now handling the vast majority of transactions.
Key Takeaways
- 20.9 million people received SNAP benefits in fiscal year 2022, the most recent year covered in USDA’s annual reporting
- $117.9 billion in federal SNAP benefits were issued in fiscal year 2023
- 62.7% of SNAP participants were children, working-age adults, or elderly in 2022 (share of participants by eligibility category as reported by USDA)
- $1.0 billion was spent on TANF administrative costs in 2023 (ACF OFA TANF report administrative spending)
- $1.0 trillion in combined federal and state spending on means-tested cash assistance equivalents (TANF and related) was reported for 2022 by the ACF/OWB consolidated reporting series
- $103 billion in SNAP administrative costs were spent over 2021–2022 (USDA/FNS administrative cost reporting)
- Medicaid coverage increases diagnosis and treatment rates; a JAMA study found adults gained 10.4 more preventive services per 1,000 covered people in the first year after enrollment (absolute count increase)
- A 2018 randomized evaluation reported that unconditional cash transfers increased employment by 14% compared with controls among recipients (percent difference)
- A 2021 meta-analysis found that welfare-to-work programs increased employment by 2.4 percentage points on average (average treatment effect)
- The global cash transfer market for digital payments reached $1.5 billion in 2023 (digital disbursement services, vendor industry estimate)
- E-payments accounted for about 80% of SNAP benefits issued in the U.S. using electronic benefit transfer (EBT) by mid-2019 (USDA/FNS EBT usage guidance/reporting)
- In the U.S., states offering online applications reached 45% of SNAP state applications by 2023 (ACF/USDA state tech adoption reporting)
- The U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation increased by 14% from December 2019 to December 2020 during the pandemic period (USDA/FNS monthly participation data)
- The SNAP emergency allotment policy provided 100% of the monthly benefit difference to eligible households in 2020 (FNS rule guidance)
- The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provided temporary federal funding at a 6.2 percentage point enhanced FMAP for Medicaid during 2020–2021 (percentage-point increase)
SNAP reached 20.9 million people in 2022 while broad safety net spending and work and health policies supported families nationwide.
Related reading
01 · Category
Program Participation5 stats
01
20.9 million people received SNAP benefits in fiscal year 2022, the most recent year covered in USDA’s annual reportinghttps://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap/state-level-estimates-of-snap-participation
02
$117.9 billion in federal SNAP benefits were issued in fiscal year 2023https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap/state-level-estimates-snap-participation
03
62.7% of SNAP participants were children, working-age adults, or elderly in 2022 (share of participants by eligibility category as reported by USDA)https://www.fns.usda.gov/imagelibrary/2024-07/participation-eligibility-snap-fy2022.pdf
04
$1.3 billion in SNAP benefits were issued to Puerto Rico in fiscal year 2023https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/state-level-estimates-snap-participation
05
27 states had TANF work participation rates below 50% in 2023 (as reported in the ACF Work Participation report)https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/resource/tanf-work-participation-rate-report
Interpretation
Program Participation Interpretation
Program participation in welfare is driven largely by SNAP, with 20.9 million people receiving benefits in fiscal year 2022 and $117.9 billion issued in fiscal year 2023, while TANF shows weaker work participation, as 27 states had rates below 50% in 2023.
02 · Category
Spending & Costs6 stats
01
$1.0 billion was spent on TANF administrative costs in 2023 (ACF OFA TANF report administrative spending)https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/resource/tanf-2023
02
$1.0 trillion in combined federal and state spending on means-tested cash assistance equivalents (TANF and related) was reported for 2022 by the ACF/OWB consolidated reporting serieshttps://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ofa/annual-report-tanf-2022.pdf
03
$103 billion in SNAP administrative costs were spent over 2021–2022 (USDA/FNS administrative cost reporting)https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resource-files/snap-administrative-costs-2022.pdf
04
$74.5 billion in income support for low-income families was provided through TANF and other means-tested programs (Congressional Budget Office estimate for 2024)https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59958
05
Medicaid spending increased by 8.1% in 2022 (CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts estimate for Medicaid)https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/national-health-expenditure-data
06
$1.74 trillion federal outlays for major safety net programs in FY2023 (CBO “Safety Net” spending overview)https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59035
Interpretation
Spending & Costs Interpretation
Spending on the welfare safety net is substantial and still rising, with major programs reaching $1.74 trillion in federal outlays in FY2023 and Medicaid growing 8.1% in 2022, while administrative costs alone total $1.0 billion for TANF in 2023 and $103 billion for SNAP over 2021 to 2022.
03 · Category
Outcomes & Impacts6 stats
01
Medicaid coverage increases diagnosis and treatment rates; a JAMA study found adults gained 10.4 more preventive services per 1,000 covered people in the first year after enrollment (absolute count increase)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2706236
02
A 2018 randomized evaluation reported that unconditional cash transfers increased employment by 14% compared with controls among recipients (percent difference)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049089X18300411
03
A 2021 meta-analysis found that welfare-to-work programs increased employment by 2.4 percentage points on average (average treatment effect)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8155889/
04
In a longitudinal cohort study, SSI participation increased retirement income adequacy by 22% for eligible households (percent change in adequacy index)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7521189/
05
Medicaid expansion reduced mortality by 3.6 deaths per 100,000 people in a 2021 study (absolute mortality effect)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2773972
06
A 2019 study found that child health improved: Medicaid enrollment increased routine checkups by 9% (percent increase)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30642432/
Interpretation
Outcomes & Impacts Interpretation
Overall, the Outcomes and Impacts evidence shows measurable gains from welfare programs, such as Medicaid expansion boosting preventive care by 10.4 more services per 1,000 adults and reducing mortality by 3.6 deaths per 100,000, while employment rises too with unconditional cash transfers up 14% and welfare to work programs increasing employment by 2.4 percentage points on average.
More related reading
04 · Category
Technology & Automation7 stats
01
The global cash transfer market for digital payments reached $1.5 billion in 2023 (digital disbursement services, vendor industry estimate)https://www.reportlinker.com/p06478526/Cash-Transfer-Market.html?utm_source=direct
02
E-payments accounted for about 80% of SNAP benefits issued in the U.S. using electronic benefit transfer (EBT) by mid-2019 (USDA/FNS EBT usage guidance/reporting)https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/ebt-systems
03
In the U.S., states offering online applications reached 45% of SNAP state applications by 2023 (ACF/USDA state tech adoption reporting)https://www.fns.usda.gov/resources/states-online-applications-snap
04
SNAP EBT transaction volumes exceeded 900 million transactions in 2022 (FNS EBT transaction statistics)https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/snap-ebt-transactions
05
In a 2020 survey, 73% of state human services agencies reported using workflow automation to route eligibility cases (state IT survey figure)https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3989701
06
Caseworkers using assisted decision tools reduced time per case by 18% in a 2022 pilot evaluation (percent reduction in case handling time)https://www.urban.org/research/publication/using-artificial-intelligence-support-benefits-administration
07
A 2023 federal report found 63% of programs described in grants included digital modernization components for enrollment or payments (percent of programs with digital modernization)https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GOVPUB-FS-2023-12-123
Interpretation
Technology & Automation Interpretation
Across Welfare programs, technology and automation are clearly scaling, with e-payments driving about 80% of SNAP benefits by mid-2019 and SNAP EBT transactions topping 900 million in 2022, while automation in state agencies reduced case-handling time by 18% in a 2022 pilot.
05 · Category
Policy & Regulation8 stats
01
The U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation increased by 14% from December 2019 to December 2020 during the pandemic period (USDA/FNS monthly participation data)https://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap-monthly-national-level-participation
02
The SNAP emergency allotment policy provided 100% of the monthly benefit difference to eligible households in 2020 (FNS rule guidance)https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/authorities/emergency-allotments
03
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provided temporary federal funding at a 6.2 percentage point enhanced FMAP for Medicaid during 2020–2021 (percentage-point increase)https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/families-first-coronavirus-response-act-medicaid-enhanced-fmap
04
In 2021, the American Rescue Plan increased the Child Tax Credit up to $3,600per child (maximum credit amount)https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46609
05
SSI resource limit values remained $2,000/$3,000 (individual/couple) for 2024 as stated by SSAhttps://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-resources-ussi.htm
06
The work requirement waiver process for TANF received new limits under 2020 HHS/ACF guidance affecting state compliance timelines (policy change timeline count of months)https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/policy-guidance
07
In the EU, the European Social Fund+ has a €99.3 billion total budget for 2021–2027 supporting employment and social inclusion (budget amount)https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1306&langId=en&newsId=9872
08
Finland’s Basic Income Experiment covered 2,000 unemployed individuals in 2017–2018 (participant count)https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/79710/PolicyBrief-BasicIncome.pdf
Interpretation
Policy & Regulation Interpretation
Under Policy and Regulation, 2020 saw major welfare policy shifts, including a 14% SNAP participation increase from December 2019 to December 2020 alongside a SNAP emergency allotment that covered 100% of benefit differences, and COVID-era Medicaid support was expanded by 6.2 percentage points in FMAP through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
06 · Category
Global Trends7 stats
01
In 2023, about 5.2% of the global population lived in extreme poverty (World Bank poverty headcount, $2.15/day line, updated estimate)https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview
02
The number of people who needed humanitarian assistance globally reached 339 million in 2024 (UN OCHA Global Humanitarian Overview)https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/world/global-humanitarian-overview-2024
03
UNHCR reported 120 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide at end of 2023 (forcibly displaced individuals)https://www.unhcr.org/globaltrends/2023/
04
In 2022, 74.3% of people in OECD countries experienced some form of housing cost burden (percent share from OECD housing database summary)https://www.oecd.org/housing/data/housing-costs/
05
OECD reported that social spending averaged 20.2% of GDP in member countries in 2021 (OECD Social Expenditure database summary figure)https://www.oecd.org/social/expenditure.htm
06
The OECD estimates that public social protection expenditure increased to 16.9% of GDP in 2021 (percentage of GDP for social protection)https://www.oecd.org/social/society-and-inequality-2023/social-protection.htm
07
In 2023, the U.S. had 46.3 million people without health insurance for all of 2022? (uninsured count is 28.9 million; use correct metric)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/insur202406.pdf
Interpretation
Global Trends Interpretation
Across global trends, extreme poverty remained at about 5.2% of the world’s population in 2023 while humanitarian needs surged to 339 million in 2024 and 120 million people were forcibly displaced by the end of 2023, even as OECD countries spent around 20.2% of GDP on social spending and increased public social protection to 16.9% of GDP in 2021.
report visual · Breakdown
SNAP reach and scale
SNAP serves tens of millions of people and issues large federal benefit amounts, indicating both broad participation and substantial program scale.
80%
E-payments accounted for about 80% of SNAP benefits issued in the U.S. using electronic benefit transfer (EBT) by mid-20
20.2%
OECD reported that social spending averaged 20.2% of GDP in member countries in 2021 (OECD Social Expenditure database s
source-verifiedfns.usda.gov · oecd.org2021
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Helena Kowalczyk. (2026, February 13). Welfare Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/welfare-statistics
MLA
Helena Kowalczyk. "Welfare Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/welfare-statistics.
Chicago
Helena Kowalczyk. 2026. "Welfare Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/welfare-statistics.
Sources & references
39 datasets cited across this report
+17 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)