Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Which US companies have the highest number of workers on SNAP benefits?
Executive Summary
Government Accountability Office analysis and subsequent reporting identify major U.S. employers — notably Walmart and McDonald’s — as having the largest counts of workers who receive SNAP (food‑stamp) benefits, with GAO estimates commonly cited of roughly 14,500 Walmart employees and about 8,800 McDonald’s employees on SNAP in the states examined; other large retailers, grocery chains, and fast‑food firms also appear repeatedly in summaries [1] [2]. The GAO work examines employment characteristics of SNAP recipients and finds concentrations in restaurants, department stores, and grocery stores, but does not report comprehensive nationwide company‑level totals; some advocacy and media accounts have used GAO state‑level estimates to argue that low wages at big corporations shift costs to taxpayers [3] [4] [5].
1. Why the Numbers Point to Big Employers — and What They Actually Measure
The GAO study behind many summaries analyzes SNAP recipient employment characteristics by industry and in certain states, producing company‑linked counts for those geographies that reporters and advocates have aggregated into lists identifying Walmart and McDonald’s at the top [3] [1]. These GAO‑based figures are estimates tied to sampled states and timeframes, not a full national payroll census; the report underlines that most working SNAP recipients are in the private sector and concentrated in specific industries—restaurants, department stores, and grocery stores—so large employers in those sectors naturally show up with higher headcounts of beneficiaries [3]. Media and advocacy reports drew direct company comparisons from those GAO tables, but the GAO itself cautions that company‑level national rank ordering is not provided, meaning statements about “the most” workers on SNAP depend on how one aggregates and extrapolates the GAO data [3] [4].
2. The Prominent Names and the Counts Cited in Coverage
Multiple outlets and stakeholders citing the GAO‑based work list Walmart and McDonald’s at the top, with cited figures of approximately 14,500 for Walmart and 8,780–8,800 for McDonald’s, and include other large firms—Amazon, Kroger, Burger King, Dollar Tree/Dollar General, FedEx, Uber, Tyson—depending on the state samples and reporting focus [2] [1] [4]. These numbers have been used repeatedly in 2020–2023 media and advocacy pieces to illustrate how low wages in large firms correlate with higher reliance on SNAP and Medicaid among employees [5] [4]. The underlying GAO documentation served as the primary empirical source for these lists, but interpretation varied: some presentations emphasize raw counts, others frame the figures as a share of a firm’s workforce or as a policy issue about taxpayer‑subsidized low wages [3] [5].
3. How Reporting Choices Shape the Narrative
Advocates and some reporters who highlight corporate names are often motivated by a policy argument that large firms profit while their low‑paid workers rely on public assistance; for example, coverage tied to Senator Bernie Sanders’ commissioned summaries used the GAO findings to call for higher wages and corporate responsibility [6] [4]. Conversely, other outlets and the GAO caution about overgeneralization from limited state samples and the absence of a full national company ranking; the GAO emphasizes industry patterns more than definitive firm‑by‑firm national totals [3]. This difference in framing—policy critique vs. methodological caution—explains why similar numbers appear in both activist op‑eds and cautious government reporting, and signals potential agenda influence when counts are presented without the GAO’s caveats [5] [3].
4. What Is Missing From the Public Talk: Scope, Timeframe, and Denominators
The available analyses and coverage omit several critical context pieces needed to interpret company lists responsibly: a clear national census of all employers, consistent timeframes across states, and denominators showing what share of each company’s workforce the SNAP recipients represent. The GAO material provides industry patterns and state‑level company estimates but not comprehensive nationwide company totals or comparisons expressed as percentages of each firm’s payroll [3] [1]. Without those elements, raw headcounts can mislead: a large employer will naturally have more employees on SNAP even if the share of its workforce relying on benefits is small, while smaller firms with higher shares may not appear in headline lists [3].
5. Bottom Line for Readers: Numbers Reflect Patterns, Not a Definitive Ranking
The best, evidence‑based takeaway is that GAO‑derived estimates and subsequent press reporting consistently identify Walmart and McDonald’s among the largest employers with workers using SNAP in the sampled states and time periods, and that restaurant, retail, and grocery sectors show the highest concentrations; however, the GAO did not produce a national, definitive ranking and media aggregations sometimes extend beyond the report’s methodological limits [1] [3]. Readers should treat headline lists as illustrative rather than exhaustive, note the advocacy frames that motivated some coverage, and look for follow‑up studies that provide nationwide counts, time‑consistent comparisons, or share‑based metrics before concluding which companies truly have the highest proportional reliance on SNAP among their workforces [5] [3].