How did SNAP enrollment change annually from 2015 to 2025?
Executive summary
SNAP enrollment rose sharply during the COVID years and remained well above pre‑pandemic levels through mid‑2025: average monthly participation in the first eight months of FY2025 was about 42.4 million people in 22.7 million households [1]. Federal SNAP data files and state dashboards report month‑level and year‑to‑date counts through January–June 2025; historical federal tables extend back decades so annual changes from 2015–2025 can be measured from those sources [2] [3].
1. How to read the headline numbers — which series matter
Measures of “enrollment” appear in multiple forms: average monthly persons, households, and benefit issuance. The Pew Research summary uses an eight‑month average for FY2025 (Oct 2024–May 2025) to report 42.4 million people and 22.7 million households [1]. USDA/FNS publishes monthly and fiscal‑year tables (persons, households, benefits) including FY1969–FY25 files and monthly snapshots through January/June 2025, which are the primary sources for year‑to‑year comparisons [2]. State pages like Tennessee and North Carolina provide county‑level monthly files that mirror federal reporting at the state level [3] [4].
2. The broad trend, 2015→2025: decline then a pandemic surge then partial retreat
National reporting shows caseloads declined around 2014–2015 after the post‑2008 expansion, with SNAP caseloads falling about 2% in 2014 and again in 2015 according to CBPP analysis of federal data [5]. Enrollment then rose sharply during the COVID‑19 pandemic era because of economic disruption and emergency policy responses; federal data and analysts describe a large increase in program use during that period and continuation at elevated levels into FY2025, evidenced by the 42.4 million person average reported for the first eight months of FY2025 [1] [2]. Available sources do not provide a single line‑by‑line table of year‑end enrollments for every year 2015–2025 in this packet, but FNS data tables and state Excel files cited here are the original data needed to calculate exact annual changes [2] [3].
3. Numbers you can cite now and where they come from
The clearest published summary in these sources: ‘‘On average, 42.4 million people in 22.7 million households received monthly SNAP benefits through the first eight months of FY2025’’ [1]. For earlier years, the FNS SNAP Data Tables include persons/households/benefits by month and fiscal year (FY89–Jan 2025) and are the canonical source to derive annual changes from 2015 onward [2]. State statistical pages (e.g., Tennessee) and county dashboards (e.g., North Carolina) provide the month‑level microdata that feed the national totals [3] [4].
4. Why year‑to‑year comparisons can mislead
Comparing a single year to the next requires attention to timing and to whether you’re looking at calendar year, fiscal year, monthly averages, or point‑in‑time counts. Pew’s FY2025 figure is an eight‑month FY average (Oct–May) and is not a strict calendar‑year total [1]. FNS notes that January and July reporting cycles are treated specially and that national summaries are updated periodically, so naive comparisons can overstate changes if you mix calendar and fiscal conventions [2]. State‑level system changes can also create artificial drops or spikes, as Massachusetts experienced in 2015 when modernization produced a 10% drop in total enrollment in one year [6].
5. Policy shifts and their enrollment effects
Policy actions affect enrollment both by changing eligibility and by changing participation. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 altered work requirements and non‑citizen eligibility and is explicitly noted on FNS pages for the Oct 1, 2025 rules period, meaning program rules changed in late 2025 — a factor that could influence 2026 counts but is listed as an implementation matter in these documents [7] [8] [9]. Earlier policy moves — emergency benefit increases in 2020 and state‑level administrative choices — drove much of the pandemic era increase and subsequent adjustments [2] [6].
6. What I can and cannot answer from the supplied sources
Available sources here allow reconstruction of annual enrollment change by extracting persons/households from the FNS data tables (FY89–Jan 2025) and from state monthly Excel files; the packet does not include a single pre‑compiled annual series for 2015–2025 in prose form, so I cannot print a verified, year‑by‑year list without performing those table extractions myself [2] [3]. I can, however, point you to the exact primary tables to compute each year’s change: the FNS SNAP Data Tables (FY89–Jan 2025) and state monthly enrollment files [2] [3].
7. How you can get a precise year‑by‑year series quickly
Download the FNS “Persons, Households, Benefits, and Average Monthly Benefit per Person & Household” dataset (FY69–FY25 Excel/.zip) and extract the FY‑average or calendar‑year monthly averages for 2015–2025 to compute percent and absolute changes year‑to‑year [2]. Cross‑check with Pew’s FY2025 summary and state Excel downloads for consistency [1] [3]. If you want, I will extract and tabulate those annual values for you from these federal files next.