SNAP is the leading cause of poverty reduction.

How Much Does SNAP Reduce Poverty? In 2015, an estimated 40.8 million people were living in poverty as defined by the SPM with correction for underreporting (table D.1).12 Absent SNAP benefits, 49.1 million would be poor. Thus, SNAP removed 8.4 million people from poverty (figure 3), reducing the SPM poverty rate from 15.4 percent to 12.8 percent (a reduction of 17 percent). We show SNAP’s effects on poverty as a percent reduction and in absolute numbers. Percent reductions are useful when comparing the relative effect of SNAP among different groups. Numerical estimates highlight that large numbers of people are removed from poverty by SNAP even for groups where the percentage reduction in poverty is lower, especially if these groups represent a large share of the overall population. In 2015, SNAP caused the largest percentage reduction in poverty for the following groups: Children. SNAP reduced the number of children in poverty 28 percent. Non-Hispanic blacks. Poverty among non-Hispanic blacks fell 21 percent because of SNAP. Working families. SNAP reduced poverty in working families 21 percent. Families are classified as “working” if they include at least one adult younger than age 65 without a disability and a family member worked at some point during the year (not necessarily in a month in which SNAP was received). Residents of the Midwest and Northeast. SNAP reduced poverty in the Midwest and Northeast 19 percent and 18 percent, respectively (figure 4). Residents of nonmetropolitan areas. Poverty fell nearly a quarter (24 percent) in nonmetropolitan areas because of SNAP. SNAP has the smallest relative effect on poverty for older Americans (for whom it reduces poverty 7 percent), people who are not white, black, or Hispanic (14 percent), nonworking families without older adults or adults with disabilities (10 percent), residents of the West (15 percent) and residents of metropolitan areas (16 percent). The following groups had the highest number of people removed from poverty by SNAP in 2015: Adults below age 65. SNAP lifted 4.1 million people between the ages of 18 to 64 out of poverty. 1 0 T H E A N T I P O V E R T Y E F F EC T S O F T H E S U P P L E M E N T A L N U T R I T I O N A S S I S TA N C E P R O G R A M Non-Hispanic whites. SNAP removed 3.3 million non-Hispanic whites from poverty. Working families. Nearly three-quarters (6.2 million) of the people removed from poverty by SNAP were in working families. Residents of the South. About 40 percent (3.4 million) of the people removed from poverty by SNAP live in the South. Residents of metropolitan areas. More than 80 percent (6.8 million) of people removed from poverty by SNAP live in metropolitan areas. In each of these cases, the population group with the largest number of individuals removed from poverty by SNAP is also the group with the largest overall population. FIGURE 3 Reductions in Poverty from SNAP by Age, Race or Ethnicity, and Work or Disability Status, 2015 Source: Authors’ calculations based on the 2016 Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement and the Transfer Income Model, version 3. Note: Figure measures poverty rates using the Supplemental Poverty Measure. 21.3% 9.6% 12.3% 14.3% 17.6% 20.9% 15.5% 7.4% 14.0% 28.4% 17.1% Percent reduction in poverty 6,190 962 1,232 628 2,522 1,964 3,271 498 4,057 3,829 8,384 Familes where all adults are age 65 or older or disabled Non-Hispanic other race Hispanic Non-Hispanic black Non-Hispanic white Age 65 or older Ages 18 to 64 Under age 18 Total Number of people removed from poverty (thousands) Families with at least one nondisabled adult age 18–64 and no working adults Families with at least one nondisabled adult age 18–64 and at least one working adult T H E A N T I P O V E R T Y E F F EC T S O F T H E S U P P L E M E N T A L N U T R I T I O N A S S I S T A N C E P R O G R A M 1 1 FIGURE 4 Reductions in Poverty from SNAP by Region and Metropolitan Status, 2015 Source: Authors’ calculations based on the 2016 Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement and the Transfer Income Model, version 3. Note: Figure measures poverty rates using the Supplemental Poverty Measure. What Explains the Differences in SNAP’s Antipoverty Effects? Many factors contribute to the relative differences in the antipoverty effects of SNAP among different populations. Although providing a definitive answer is beyond the scope of this report, we present several possible explanations below. Groups with higher rates of participation in SNAP may be more likely to be lifted out of poverty by SNAP than groups in which eligible people are less likely to participate. SNAP participation rates are highest for children and lowest for older Americans (Gray and Cunnyngham 2017). This likely contributes to the relatively greater antipoverty effects of SNAP among children. SNAP antipoverty effects and participation rates also follow a similar pattern by region, with the highest SNAP participation rate and antipoverty effect found in the Midwest, followed by the Northeast, South, and West.13 Groups with larger average SNAP benefits may be more likely to be removed from poverty by SNAP if their incomes without SNAP are similarly close to the SPM poverty level. This likely contributes 24.0% 16.0% 15.4% 16.7% 19.4% 18.2% Percent reduction in poverty 1,489 6,821 1,942 3,372 1,543 1,527 Nonmetropolitan area Metropolitan area West South Midwest Northeast Number of people removed from poverty (thousands) 1 2 T H E A N T I P O V E R T Y E F F EC T S O F T H E S U P P L E M E N T A L N U T R I T I O N A S S I S TA N C E P R O G R A M to the lower antipoverty effect of SNAP among older people (who tend to receive smaller benefits because of their smaller household size) than among children. People who tend to have income just below the SPM poverty level may be more likely to be lifted above poverty by SNAP than people who tend to have incomes well below it. For example, working families, whose earnings bring them close to the SPM poverty level, may be more likely to be removed from poverty by SNAP than nonworking families without older adults or adults with disabilities. Without earnings, disability income, or Social Security or other retirement income, the latter group is likely to have little or no income, making them less likely to be lifted above the SPM poverty level by SNAP. Lower housing costs (as measured by the SPM) may contribute to SNAP’s greater antipoverty effect in nonmetropolitan areas. For example, the SPM poverty level for a single parent with two children who rents an apartment in Minneapolis is $22,176 (table 1); the same family living in a nonmetropolitan area of Minnesota would have an SPM poverty level of $18,541. A SNAP benefit sufficient to raise a family above the poverty level in a nonmetropolitan area in Minnesota might not be sufficient to raise the same family above the level in Minneapolis. SNAP’s Effect on Deep Poverty “Deep poverty” refers to the share of the population with resources below half of the SPM poverty level. For example, a single-parent renter with two children in Minneapolis would be considered in deep poverty if his or her SPM resources were below $11,088 (half of $22,176). Deep poverty is a useful metric because it measures the severity of poverty. A reduction in deep poverty can reflect an improvement in family circumstances even when the overall number of people in poverty remains unchanged. SNAP substantially reduces the deep poverty rate. Without SNAP, an estimated 16.8 million people would be in deep poverty. SNAP reduces this number to 12.1 million, a reduction of 28 percent (table D.2). The following groups experienced the largest percentage reductions in deep poverty because of SNAP in 2015: Children. SNAP reduced the number of children in deep poverty by nearly half (49 percent) (figure 5). T H E A N T I P O V E R T Y E F F EC T S O F T H E S U P P L E M E N T A L N U T R I T I O N A S S I S T A N C E P R O G R A M 1 3 Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks. Deep poverty among people of Hispanic ethnicity fell 37 percent because of SNAP; deep poverty among non-Hispanic blacks fell 36 percent. Working families. SNAP reduced deep poverty in working families more than one-third (34 percent). Residents of the South. SNAP reduced deep poverty in the South 30 percent (figure 6). Residents of nonmetropolitan areas. Deep poverty fell nearly one-third (32 percent) in nonmetropolitan areas because of SNAP. SNAP has the smallest relative effect on deep poverty for older Americans, among whom it reduced deep poverty 13 percent, people who are not white, black, or Hispanic (19 percent), nonworking families without older adults or adults with disabilities (22 percent), persons outside of the South (26 percent in the Northeast and West and 27 percent in the Midwest), and residents of metropolitan areas (27 percent). The following groups had the highest number of people removed from deep poverty by SNAP: Adults below age 65. SNAP lifted 2.4 million people ages 18 to 64 out of deep poverty. Non-Hispanic whites. SNAP removed 1.7 million non-Hispanic whites from deep poverty. Working families. About 2.6 million (or over half) of the people removed from deep poverty by SNAP were in working families containing at least one adult younger than age 65 without a disability. Residents of the South. About 2.2 million (almost half) of the people removed from deep poverty by SNAP live in the South. Residents of metropolitan areas. Around 3.9 million (or over 80 percent) of people removed from deep poverty by SNAP live in metropolitan areas. As with our estimates for “standard” poverty, each group with the largest number of individuals removed from deep poverty by SNAP is also the group with the largest overall population. 1 4 T H E A N T I P O V E R T Y E F F EC T S O F T H E S U P P L E M E N T A L N U T R I T I O N A S S I S TA N C E P R O G R A M FIGURE 5 Reductions in Deep Poverty from SNAP by Age, Race or Ethnicity, and Work or Disability Status, 2015 Source: Authors’ calculations based on the 2016 Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement and the Transfer Income Model, version 3. Note: Figure measures deep poverty rates using the Supplemental Poverty Measure. FIGURE 6 Reductions in Deep Poverty from SNAP by Region and Metropolitan Status, 2015 Source: Authors’ calculations based on the 2016 Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement and the Transfer Income Model, version 3. Note: Figure measures deep poverty rates using the Supplemental Poverty Measure. 34.1% 21.8% 24.2% 18.6% 36.5% 36.4% 21.6% 12.6% 22.1% 49.0% 27.7% Percent reduction in deep poverty 2,560 1,391 703 319 1,501 1,148 1,686 240 2,364 2,049 4,653 Families where all adults are age 65 or older or disabled Non-Hispanic other race Hispanic Non-Hispanic black Non-Hispanic white Age 65 or older Ages 18 to 64 Under age 18 Total Number of people removed from deep poverty (thousands) 31.6% 27.1% 26.3% 29.5% 26.9% 26.0% Percent reduction in deep poverty 708 3,893 1,056 2,159 749 688 Nonmetropolitan area Metropolitan area West South Midwest Northeast Number of people removed from deep poverty (thousands) Families with at least one nondisabled adult age 18–64 and no working adults Families with at least one nondisabled adult age 18–64 and at least one working adult T H E A N T I P O V E R T Y E F F EC T S O F T H E S U P P L E M E N T A L N U T R I T I O N A S S I S T A N C E P R O G R A M 1 5 Effects of SNAP on the Poverty Gap SNAP improves the resources of poor families even when the benefits are not sufficiently high to remove them from poverty or deep poverty. One measure of this effect can be seen through the change in the poverty gap, defined as the aggregate amount of additional income that would be required for all poor families to be removed from poverty. FIGURE 7 Poverty Gap with and without SNAP, 2015 $ millions Source: Authors’ calculations based on the 2016 Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement and the Transfer Income Model, version 3. Note: Figure measures the poverty gap using the Supplemental Poverty Measure. We estimate that the poverty gap was $133.9 billion in 2015 (figure 7).14 Absent SNAP, the poverty gap would have been $169 billion. Thus, SNAP reduced the poverty gap by $34.9 billion (21 percent) in 2015. Not all SNAP benefits go toward reducing the poverty gap. Some SNAP benefits are received by families whose SPM resources are above the SPM poverty level even without SNAP. For families lifted above the poverty level by SNAP, the SNAP benefits required to raise resources up to the SPM poverty level are counted as reducing the poverty gap, but benefits beyond that amount are not counted. We estimate that about 55 percent of SNAP benefits went to filling the poverty gap in 2015.15 $134,000 $39,000 $21,000 $73,000 $169,000 $62,000 $24,000 $83,000 Total Families with children Elderly headed families Nonelderly families without children Poverty gap without SNAP Poverty gap with SNAP 1 6 T H E A N T I P O V E R T Y E F F EC T S O F T H E S U P P L E M E N T A L N U T R I T I O N A S S I S TA N C E P R O G R A M Most of the reduction in the poverty gap ($22.7 billion) was experienced by families with children. This is not surprising, because families with children receive the largest share of SNAP benefits. According to FNS data, households with children received 66 percent of SNAP benefits paid out in the average month of 2015 (Gray, Fisher, and Lauffer 2016). Families with children also experienced the largest percentage reduction in the poverty gap, 37 percent, compared with 11 percent for families without children headed by someone over age 65 and 12 percent for families without children headed by someone ages 18 to 64. Another measure of SNAP’s effect is the reduction in the average poverty gap for families that remain poor despite receiving SNAP. The average poverty gap reflects the average amount by which the resources of poor families fall below the SPM poverty level. Among poor families that receive SNAP, the average poverty gap without SNAP is $9,424 (figure 8). In other words, these families would require an average of $9,424 to bring them up to the poverty level. SNAP reduces the average poverty gap among poor recipient families to $6,385, a reduction of nearly one-third. Families with children experience the largest average reduction, $4,940 (or 39 percent). FIGURE 8 Average Poverty Gap with and without SNAP among Families That Are Poor Despite Receiving SNAP, 2015 Dollars Source: Authors’ calculations based on the 2016 Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement and the Transfer Income Model, version 3. Note: Figure measures the average poverty gap using the Supplemental Poverty Measure. The average poverty gap is calculated for families that receive SNAP and are below poverty despite receipt of SNAP benefits.