July 2nd, 2022 How much could I receive in SNAP benefits?

Maximum amounts

Want a personalized benefit estimate? Try our SNAP Eligibility Prescreener.

SNAP eligibility, and SNAP benefit amounts (also called allotment amounts) are based on your household size. The more people in your household, the more income you can have while still being eligible, and the higher your maximum benefit can be.

The maximum benefit amount is raised slightly every year. Here are the maximum benefit amounts for 2022. If your household has little or no income, you'll likely get the maximum income for your household size if approved. Additionally, due to the pandemic, many states are giving all households the maximum amount for their household size (and in some cases up to $95 more than the max).

These numbers are updated every year, and are slightly higher in Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. See the USDA's website for more information.

How much will I get?

Not everybody gets the maximum benefit amount. In fact the miminum benefit amount can be as low as $20. Part of the SNAP eligibility criteria is a household's net income, which means your household's total income minus some specific deductions for things like rent or mortage payments, utility expenses, and medical expenses in some cases.

The higher your net income is, the lower your SNAP benefit amount will be. In very general terms, for every $100 more you make, your SNAP benefits will decrease by about $25-30. It's very difficult to calculate net income without a calculator, as there many special deduction amounts that vary by state, as well as some automatic deductions and some scaled deductions.

While the only true way to figure out how much you'd recieve is to apply, our SNAP Eligibility Prescreener can give you an estimate of how much you'd recieve, and what factors determine net income and SNAP benefit amounts in your state.

Due to the variation in net income deductions by state, the same household could be approved for $104 in one state, $259 in another, and rejected from the SNAP program entirely in a dozen other states. Read more about our research on How SNAP Benefits Vary by State.