SNAP payment error rates by state, FY 2003–25

For the entirety of its more than 50-year history, SNAP benefits have always been paid by the federal government alone. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) changes the structure of SNAP by mandating that states pay for a portion of SNAP benefits based on their payment error rate (PER). On June 24, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released states’ FY2025 payment error rates, the first statistic that can be used to determine whether and how much a state will have to pay in SNAP benefits in FY2028.

OBBBA mandates that starting in FY2028, states would be required to pay for 5 percent of SNAP benefits (if a state’s error rate is equal to or greater than 6 percent but less than 8 percent), 10 percent of benefits (if a state’s error rate is equal or greater than 8 percent but less than 10 percent), or 15 percent of benefits (if a state’s error rate is 10 percent or higher). OBBBA includes a temporary delay in the state payment requirement for states with error rates above 13.32 percent. If in FY2025 a state has a PER above 13.32 percent, it is exempt from paying any portion of SNAP benefits until FY2029, and if its FY2026 PER is above 13.32 percent, it is exempt until FY2030. OBBBA makes it harder for states to invest the resources needed to reduce errors by cutting in half (from 50 percent to 25 percent) the share of state SNAP administrative costs that the federal government covers and eliminating some program simplifications, making eligibility and benefit determinations more complex, despite the fact that greater complexity tends to result in more errors.

In fiscal year 2028, 15 states and D.C. will have SNAP benefits fully paid for by the federal government because they have a payment error rate below 6 percent (nine states) or above 13.32 percent (six states and D.C.). The remaining 35 states may have to pay 5 percent (six states), 10 percent (16 states), or 15 percent (13 states) of benefits. States may also use their FY2026 payment error rate to determine the share of benefits to be paid.

This data interactive shows SNAP payment error rates for the U.S. and for each state from fiscal year 2003 through fiscal year 2025. Horizontal lines are drawn through 6 percent, 8 percent, 10 percent, and 13.32 percent error rates. When a state’s payment error rate is between 6 and 13.32 percent, the bar is shown in various shades of orange.

In providing an estimate for the House bill of the effect of pushing no less than 5 percent of SNAP benefit costs onto states, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has warned that this policy could lead some states to drop out of the program, reflecting compelling evidence that, with nearly all states being required to balance their budget each year, many states would not be able to shoulder the substantial costs of this policy change even under good economic conditions. Moreover, states certainly do not have the flexibility or tools that the federal government does to borrow to cover increased program costs during a recession. At least one state, Alabama, has publicly stated that the state cost shift could cause the state to drop out of the program.

The consequences of restructuring SNAP to mandate that states pay a portion of benefits will not be borne solely by SNAP participants. States that attempt to preserve SNAP benefits may find it necessary to cut education, health, or other programs as a result.

Up until now, SNAP has provided much-needed relief to families when they fall on hard times. And, up until now, SNAP benefits have served as a crucial economic stimulus because when the economy turns down and more people lose jobs and income, more households have become eligible for the program, and participants have quickly spent the benefits in their local economies.

Each of OBBBA’s policy changes to SNAP, however, weakens and undermines the program’s ability to alleviate hardship for families during downturns and diminishes SNAP’s vital contribution to stabilizing demand. Achieving sounder, more effective countercyclical SNAP policy thus will entail undoing the principal SNAP changes in OBBBA.

This interactive was developed by Lauren Bauer, Tia Cole, Asha Patt, and Eileen Powell. It accompanies “SNAP cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will significantly impair recession response” by Lauren Bauer and Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach.