Food Stamps by Household: How Much the 2023 COLA Boosted Monthly SNAP Benefits

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Americans who depend on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to buy food have had a rough go of it in 2022 due to soaring prices for everything from eggs and bacon to veggies and cereal.

In September 2022, food-at-home prices rose 13% year-over-year — much higher than the overall inflation rate of 8.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Monthly price gains for food have outpaced the overall inflation rate in at least six of the last seven months.

The good news is, every year SNAP benefits are adjusted for inflation, and beneficiaries will get a 12.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for fiscal year 2023. The COLA kicked in on Oct. 1, 2022, and will run through Sept. 30, 2023.

SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance to low-income households. It is overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture but administered at the state level. The USDA announced the fiscal 2023 COLA in August.

If you’re wondering how the COLA translates into dollars — specifically, how much more money you’ll get each month in fiscal 2023 vs. fiscal year 2022 — the USDA has a webpage that provides COLA information broken down by year.

Included on the page are links to maximum monthly allotments by household size for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, as well as Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Here’s a look at the maximum allotments by household size for fiscal 2023 vs. fiscal 2022 for SNAP recipients in the 48 contiguous states and D.C.:

Household size of 1 person

• Oct. 1, 2021- Sept. 30, 2022 – $250.
• Oct. 1, 2022- Sept. 30, 2023 – $281.

Household size of 2 people

• Oct. 1, 2021- Sept. 30, 2022 – $459.
• Oct. 1, 2022- Sept. 30, 2023 – $516.

Household size of 3

• Oct. 1, 2021- Sept. 30, 2022 – $658.
• Oct. 1, 2022- Sept. 30, 2023 – $740.

Household size of 4

• Oct. 1, 2021- Sept. 30, 2022 – $835.
• Oct. 1, 2022- Sept. 30, 2023 – $939.

Household size of 5

• Oct. 1, 2021- Sept. 30, 2022 – $992.
• Oct. 1, 2022- Sept. 30, 2023 – $1,116.

Household size of 6

• Oct. 1, 2021- Sept. 30, 2022 – $1,190.
• Oct. 1, 2022- Sept. 30, 2023 – $1,339.

Household size of 7

• Oct. 1, 2021- Sept. 30, 2022 – $1,316.
• Oct. 1, 2022- Sept. 30, 2023 – $1,480.

Household size of 8

• Oct. 1, 2021- Sept. 30, 2022 – $1,504.
• Oct. 1, 2022- Sept. 30, 2023 – $1,691.

Benefits for each additional person for households of 9 or more

• Oct. 1, 2021- Sept. 30, 2022 – $188.
• Oct. 1, 2022- Sept. 30, 2023 – $211.

Alaska and Hawaii have different benefit amounts because their costs of living are so much higher than the rest of the country. These two states also have different SNAP benefits for urban residents and two categories of rural residents. To find out their maximum allotments for fiscal 2023, visit this USDA page.

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