Inflation has driven up the prices of nearly all goods and services, including necessary items such as groceries. The cost of a gallon of milk is up 25% compared to pre-pandemic prices. According to a report by Moody’s Analytics, American families pay $311 more each month, on average, for essential goods compared to one year ago. To survive the price hikes, millions of Americans may have to rely on the government’s food assistance benefits, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
As of 2020, roughly 13.8 million U.S. households, about one in 10, received SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps. However, at the more local level, there are highly affluent places where SNAP assistance is relatively rare.
To find the 50 counties with the lowest SNAP recipiency rates, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed five-year estimates of the share of households that received SNAP benefits in the past 12 months from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey. As of 2020, 11.4% of U.S. households received SNAP benefits. Among the 50 counties or county equivalents on this list, that share ranges from 3.5% to as low as just 1.0% households.
While factors such as assets and household composition impact whether a household qualifies, SNAP recipiency is primarily determined by income. So, as might be expected, counties with lower poverty rates also tend to have fewer households receiving benefits. In 2020, 12.8% of Americans lived below the poverty line. In 42 of the 50 counties or county equivalents on this list, the poverty rate is less than 10%, and in the case of Douglas County, Colorado, 3.2% of the population live below the poverty line, the lowest share out of the some 3,000 American counties. These are the states where the most children live in Poverty.
Because income is the primary determinant for SNAP recipiency, unemployment is a major determinant in how many people receive benefits, as those Americans who are out of a job are likely to have little to no income. All but three of the counties on this list have five-year average unemployment rates lower than the national five year unemployment rate of 5.3%. Perkins County, Nebraska, is one of just a handful of U.S. counties with a five year unemployment rate of less than 1%. These are the states with the worst spikes in unemployment since the pandemic began.
Click here to see counties where the fewest people use SNAP benefits
To determine the counties with the lowest SNAP recipiency rates, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed five-year estimates of the share of households that received SNAP benefits in the past 12 months from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey.
Counties were excluded if the SNAP recipiency rate was not available in the 2020 ACS, if there were fewer than 500 households, or if the sampling error associated with a county’s data was deemed too high.
The sampling error was defined as too high if the coefficient of variation — a statistical assessment of how reliable an estimate is — for a county’s SNAP recipiency rate was above 15% and greater than two standard deviations above the mean CV for all counties’ SNAP recipiency rates. We similarly excluded counties that had a sampling error too high for their population, using the same definition.
Counties were ranked based on the share of households that received SNAP benefits in the past 12 months. To break ties, we used the number of households that received SNAP benefits in the past 12 months.
Additional information on poverty rate, median household income, and unemployment rate are also five-year estimates from the 2020 ACS.
50. McLean County, North Dakota
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.5%
> Poverty rate: 7.5% — 242nd lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $70,261 — 347th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 1.5% — 62nd lowest of 2,987 counties
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49. Ozaukee County, Wisconsin
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.5%
> Poverty rate: 4.7% — 24th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $84,394 — 130th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 2.7% — 315th lowest of 2,987 counties
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48. Routt County, Colorado
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.5%
> Poverty rate: 9.5% — 560th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $76,198 — 224th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 3.9% — 828th lowest of 2,987 counties
47. Holmes County, Ohio
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.5%
> Poverty rate: 9.7% — 598th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $64,453 — 575th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 2.3% — 203rd lowest of 2,987 counties
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46. Chase County, Nebraska
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.5%
> Poverty rate: 8.9% — 445th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $56,135 — 1,157th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 3.5% — 634th lowest of 2,987 counties
45. Custer County, South Dakota
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.4%
> Poverty rate: 12.7% — 1,240th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $64,556 — 567th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 5.4% — 1,179th highest of 2,987 counties
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44. Donley County, Texas
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.4%
> Poverty rate: 12.5% — 1,195th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $51,875 — 1,393rd lowest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 1.6% — 70th lowest of 2,987 counties
43. Putnam County, New York
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.4%
> Poverty rate: 5.6% — 77th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $107,246 — 23rd highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 4.6% — 1,290th lowest of 2,987 counties
42. Hendricks County, Indiana
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.4%
> Poverty rate: 5.3% — 63rd lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $84,754 — 126th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 3.6% — 656th lowest of 2,987 counties
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41. Oconee County, Georgia
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.3%
> Poverty rate: 6.2% — 115th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $95,064 — 61st highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 2.9% — 377th lowest of 2,987 counties
40. Powhatan County, Virginia
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.3%
> Poverty rate: 4.8% — 30th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $93,833 — 67th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 1.4% — 54th lowest of 2,987 counties
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39. Lincoln County, Wyoming
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.3%
> Poverty rate: 7.2% — 207th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $71,898 — 302nd highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 2.7% — 309th lowest of 2,987 counties
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38. Forsyth County, Georgia
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.3%
> Poverty rate: 5.2% — 60th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $112,834 — 15th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 3.3% — 496th lowest of 2,987 counties
37. Albany County, Wyoming
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.2%
> Poverty rate: 20.9% — 431st highest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $51,362 — 1,312th lowest of 2,987 counties (tied)
> Unemployment rate: 4.1% — 983rd lowest of 2,987 counties
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36. Los Alamos County, New Mexico
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.2%
> Poverty rate: 4.0% — 9th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $119,266 — 10th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 3.5% — 633rd lowest of 2,987 counties
35. Summit County, Colorado
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.2%
> Poverty rate: 7.5% — 234th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $80,709 — 175th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 3.1% — 431st lowest of 2,987 counties
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34. San Mateo County, California
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.2%
> Poverty rate: 6.2% — 114th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $128,091 — 3rd highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 4.0% — 892nd lowest of 2,987 counties
33. Lincoln County, South Dakota
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.2%
> Poverty rate: 5.0% — 45th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $84,260 — 135th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 2.7% — 290th lowest of 2,987 counties
32. Gove County, Kansas
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.2%
> Poverty rate: 8.6% — 390th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $53,906 — 1,368th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 2.9% — 362nd lowest of 2,987 counties
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31. Greeley County, Nebraska
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.2%
> Poverty rate: 13.7% — 1,475th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $46,830 — 854th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 1.3% — 42nd lowest of 2,987 counties
30. Botetourt County, Virginia
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.1%
> Poverty rate: 6.2% — 117th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $72,719 — 278th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 2.8% — 341st lowest of 2,987 counties
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29. Morris County, New Jersey
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.0%
> Poverty rate: 4.8% — 33rd lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $117,298 — 13th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 4.9% — 1,472nd lowest of 2,987 counties
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28. Marin County, California
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.0%
> Poverty rate: 6.9% — 170th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $121,671 — 7th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 4.5% — 1,258th lowest of 2,987 counties
27. Fairfax city, Virginia
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.0%
> Poverty rate: 9.8% — 617th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $109,708 — 21st highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 4.0% — 906th lowest of 2,987 counties
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26. Albemarle County, Virginia
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.0%
> Poverty rate: 7.7% — 260th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $84,643 — 128th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 3.4% — 549th lowest of 2,987 counties
_from_SE_1.JPG "Wightman house (Wayne, Nebraska) from SE 1 by Ammodramus")
25. Wayne County, Nebraska
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 3.0%
> Poverty rate: 11.8% — 1,030th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $58,894 — 944th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 3.1% — 440th lowest of 2,987 counties
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24. Loudoun County, Virginia
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.9%
> Poverty rate: 3.2% — 3rd lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $147,111 — the highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 3.5% — 640th lowest of 2,987 counties
23. Sussex County, New Jersey
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.9%
> Poverty rate: 5.2% — 59th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $96,222 — 58th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 5.3% — 1,273rd highest of 2,987 counties
22. Griggs County, North Dakota
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.9%
> Poverty rate: 4.3% — 12th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $53,917 — 1,367th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 1.5% — 56th lowest of 2,987 counties
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21. Hunterdon County, New Jersey
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.9%
> Poverty rate: 3.9% — 7th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $117,858 — 12th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 3.9% — 835th lowest of 2,987 counties
20. Collin County, Texas
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.7%
> Poverty rate: 6.3% — 121st lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $100,541 — 44th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 4.0% — 894th lowest of 2,987 counties
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19. Broomfield County, Colorado
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.7%
> Poverty rate: 5.0% — 44th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $101,206 — 42nd highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 3.6% — 662nd lowest of 2,987 counties
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18. Arlington County, Virginia
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.6%
> Poverty rate: 6.4% — 129th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $122,604 — 6th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 2.8% — 324th lowest of 2,987 counties
17. Somerset County, New Jersey
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.5%
> Poverty rate: 5.1% — 50th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $116,510 — 14th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 4.4% — 1,193rd lowest of 2,987 counties
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16. York County, Virginia
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.5%
> Poverty rate: 4.8% — 36th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $93,356 — 71st highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 4.6% — 1,312th lowest of 2,987 counties
15. Johnson County, Kansas
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.4%
> Poverty rate: 4.9% — 41st lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $91,650 — 78th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 3.1% — 450th lowest of 2,987 counties
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14. Park County, Colorado
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.4%
> Poverty rate: 7.0% — 183rd lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $76,611 — 216th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 5.9% — 933rd highest of 2,987 counties
13. Madison County, Montana
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.3%
> Poverty rate: 8.1% — 322nd lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $55,892 — 1,178th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 2.9% — 375th lowest of 2,987 counties
12. Hamilton County, Indiana
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.3%
> Poverty rate: 4.4% — 17th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $98,880 — 49th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 2.8% — 339th lowest of 2,987 counties
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11. Burke County, North Dakota
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.2%
> Poverty rate: 6.7% — 153rd lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $79,405 — 189th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 2.2% — 162nd lowest of 2,987 counties
10. Wasatch County, Utah
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.2%
> Poverty rate: 4.8% — 29th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $85,807 — 117th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 1.8% — 102nd lowest of 2,987 counties
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9. Williamson County, Tennessee
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.1%
> Poverty rate: 4.7% — 22nd lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $111,196 — 20th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 2.5% — 240th lowest of 2,987 counties
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8. Hanson County, South Dakota
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.1%
> Poverty rate: 12.1% — 1,098th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $63,750 — 608th highest of 2,987 counties (tied)
> Unemployment rate: 2.3% — 197th lowest of 2,987 counties
7. Mountrail County, North Dakota
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.1%
> Poverty rate: 10.7% — 791st lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $70,412 — 341st highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 4.3% — 1,121st lowest of 2,987 counties
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6. Hamlin County, South Dakota
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.1%
> Poverty rate: 7.8% — 277th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $67,626 — 432nd highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 2.3% — 201st lowest of 2,987 counties
5. Ness County, Kansas
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.1%
> Poverty rate: 11.3% — 931st lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $57,222 — 1,063rd highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 1.3% — 43rd lowest of 2,987 counties
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4. Perkins County, Nebraska
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 2.0%
> Poverty rate: 6.7% — 157th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $61,389 — 749th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 0.7% — 15th lowest of 2,987 counties
3. Fluvanna County, Virginia
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 1.7%
> Poverty rate: 4.7% — 25th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $78,885 — 199th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 2.5% — 254th lowest of 2,987 counties
2. Douglas County, Colorado
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 1.7%
> Poverty rate: 3.2% — 2nd lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $121,393 — 8th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 3.5% — 594th lowest of 2,987 counties
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1. Summit County, Utah
> Households receiving SNAP benefits: 1.0%
> Poverty rate: 4.5% — 18th lowest of 2,987 counties
> Median household income: $106,973 — 24th highest of 2,987 counties
> Unemployment rate: 2.1% — 149th lowest of 2,987 counties
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