ABOUT
How do we estimate the SNAP benefit per meal?
The maximum SNAP benefit is the same for all counties in the 48 contiguous states and Washington, DC, and is adjusted for Alaska and Hawaii. Because we are interested in how well the maximum benefit can help people afford the cost of a modestly priced meal in their communities, we take an average of the maximum benefit each household size can receive and adjust it for each household size’s share of SNAP enrollees in 2024. We then divide the monthly benefit by the typical number of meals we assume people consume each month.
Before the fiscal year 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (January through September 2025), we arrive at a per-meal maximum benefit of $2.84 for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, $3.67 in Alaska, and $5.03 in Hawaii. The national average weighted by county-level population sizes is $2.85. After the fiscal year 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (October through December 2025), we arrive at a per-meal maximum benefit of $2.90 for the 48 contiguous states, $3.75 in Alaska, and $4.93 Hawaii. The national average weighted by county-level population sizes is $2.91
How do we calculate the average cost of a meal?
We use weekly reported food expenditures from the 2024 Current Population Survey and divide by meals eaten per week. We restrict the responses to those from households with incomes at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level, the federal guideline for SNAP gross income eligibility. We also restrict responses from people who are food secure, as food insecure families are likely underspending on food, even for a Thrifty Food Plan meal, because of limited resources. When calculating a national average meal cost across counties, we weight county meal costs by the estimated number of SNAP participants in each county. On average, the national cost of a meal for households meeting our criteria was $3.48 in 2024. We then used the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator to trend this upward to a meal cost in 2025, arriving at an estimated meal cost of $3.57 for December of that year.
How do we adjust the average meal cost for food prices by county?
We adjust the national cost per meal ($3.57) for the relative prices paid for the Thrifty Food Plan market basket in each county in the US. Our source for a county-level food price index is Feeding America’s annual Map the Meal Gap study, which is based on food price data contributed by NielsenIQ. We then translate the total market basket (including any applicable state and county sales taxes on groceries) into an adjustment factor that can be applied to any dollar amount. This adjustment differs by county, revealing differences in food costs at the county level.
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PROJECT CREDITS
This project is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. We are grateful to them and to all our funders, who make it possible for Urban to advance its mission. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation or to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Funders do not determine research findings or the insights and recommendations of Urban experts.
We are grateful for the data contributions from Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap study (supported by Conagra Brands Foundation), which uses food price data contributed by NielsenIQ to estimate county-level meal costs. We especially appreciate the assistance of Adam Dewey at Feeding America in updating the analysis and reviewing final products.
RESEARCH Elaine Waxman, Poonam Gupta, Matthew P. Rabbitt, and Craig Gundersen from Baylor University
DESIGN Brittney Spinner and Christina Baird
DEVELOPMENT Evy Park, Jessica Kelly, Rachel Marconi, and Ben Chartoff
EDITING Alex Dallman and Michael Marazzi
WRITING Rachel Kenney, Serena Lei, and Emily Peiffer
View the project on Github.
