The Average Food Stamp Benefit the Year You Were Born
Here’s how payments changed over a half-century.
Food stamps entered the social safety net in 1939 when Mabel McFiggin of Rochester, New York, became the very first person to receive them.
Back then — and for decades to come — they were actual stamps. In the beginning, people on “relief” bought some stamps in order to receive others for free. They were different colors, and some could be exchanged for any food while others could be exchanged only for surplus food.
Find Out: Surprising Things You Can Buy With Food Stamps
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The program has changed and evolved continuously over the years.
There’s no more color-coding, EBT cards replaced physical stamps and the program is now called SNAP, but one thing has remained relatively unchanged. When adjusted for inflation, the average monthly benefit paid to recipients has stayed surprisingly consistent throughout the generations. Because of the pandemic, benefits have been higher for the last two years than they’ve ever been before, but that’s an anomaly. For much of the preceding half-century, payments have mostly held steady. Here’s a look at the average food stamp benefit for every year in the program’s modern history.

1969-1974
Note: The chronology starts in 1969 when the program was standardized. For more information, read about the history of welfare and food stamps under each president.
1969
- Average benefit: $6.63
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $53.54
1970
- Average benefit: $10.55
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $80.24
1971
- Average benefit: $13.55
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $97.88
1972
- Average benefit: $13.48
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $94.30
1973
- Average benefit: $14.60
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $98.53
1974
- Average benefit: $17.61
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $108.65
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1975-1979
1975
- Average benefit: $21.40
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $118.09
1976
- Average benefit: $23.93
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $123.74
1977
- Average benefit: $24.71
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $121.44
1978
- Average benefit: $26.77
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $123.14
1979
- Average benefit: $30.59
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $128.77

1980-1984
1980
- Average benefit: $34.47
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $127.38
1981
- Average benefit: $39.49
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $130.50
1982
- Average benefit: $39.17
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $119.42
1983
- Average benefit: $42.98
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $126.35
1984
- Average benefit: $42.74
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $120.59

1985-1989
1985
- Average benefit: $44.99
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $122.60
1986
- Average benefit: $45.49
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $119.33
1987
- Average benefit: $45.78
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $118.36
1988
- Average benefit: $49.83
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $123.82
1989
- Average benefit: $51.71
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $122.76

1990-1994
1990
- Average benefit: $58.78
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $132.65
1991
- Average benefit: $63.78
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $136.23
1992
- Average benefit: $68.57
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $142.75
1993
- Average benefit: $67.95
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $137.00
1994
- Average benefit: $69.00
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $135.69

1995-1999
1995
- Average benefit: $71.27
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $136.33
1996
- Average benefit: $73.21
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $136.32
1997
- Average benefit: $71.27
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $128.79
1998
- Average benefit: $71.12
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $126.53
1999
- Average benefit: $72.27
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $126.46
Read: A Complete Guide to SNAP Benefits

2000-2004
2000
- Average benefit: $72.62
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $123.69
2001
- Average benefit: $74.81
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $122.83
2002
- Average benefit: $79.67
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $129.34
2003
- Average benefit: $83.94
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $132.82
2004
- Average benefit: $86.16
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $133.75

2005-2009
2005
- Average benefit: $92.89
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $140.04
2006
- Average benefit: $94.75
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $137.37
2007
- Average benefit: $96.18
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $136.61
2008
- Average benefit: $102.19
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $139.19
2009
- Average benefit: $125.31
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $170.63

2010-2014
2010
- Average benefit: $133.79
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $177.51
2011
- Average benefit: $133.85
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $174.74
2012
- Average benefit: $133.41
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $169.22
2013
- Average benefit: $133.07
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $166.14
2014
- Average benefit: $125.01
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $153.65

2015-2019
2015
- Average benefit: $126.81
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $156.00
2016
- Average benefit: $125.40
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $152.18
2017
- Average benefit: $125.47
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $148.55
2018
- Average benefit: $124.50
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $144.41
2019
- Average benefit: $129.83
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $148.29

2020-2022
2020
- Average benefit: $155.12
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $172.88
2021
- Average benefit: $218.14
- Average benefit in 2022 dollars: $239.76
2022
- Average benefit: $240.19
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Methodology: In order to find the average food stamp benefit the year you were born, GOBankingRates looked at the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service SNAP data to find (1) the average benefit per person for every year from 1969 to 2022. Then, GOBankingRates used the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI inflation calculator to find (2) the average food stamp benefit in 2022 dollars for all years. All data were collected on and up to date as of April 27, 2022.