What was the maximum SNAP allotment for a family of four in 2024 and 2025?

1. Official numbers: small COLA bump from 2024 to 2025

The USDA’s FY2024 Cost‑of‑Living Adjustment (COLA) memorandum lists the maximum monthly allotment for a household of four in the 48 states and D.C. as $973 (effective Oct. 1, 2023–Sept. 30, 2024) ^[1]. The subsequent FY2025 COLA memo shows a $2 increase: the maximum allotment for a family of four in the 48 states and D.C. is $975 for the period Oct. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2025 ^[2]. State-level materials, such as Louisiana’s announcement, explicitly reflect that increase from $973 to $975 ^[3].

2. Why the change is so small: COLA tied to the Thrifty Food Plan and CPI

USDA explains that annual SNAP COLAs are computed to reflect changes in the cost of living and the Thrifty Food Plan market basket; the result for FY2025 produced only a modest $2 monthly increase for a 4‑person household in the contiguous U.S. ^{[4] [2]}. Coverage from outlets like Newsweek and state notices corroborate that the FY2025 change was a very small nominal bump — one to a few dollars for most household sizes ^{[5] [3]}.

3. Geographic variation: higher (and sometimes lower) maximums outside the contiguous U.S.

The “maximum for a family of four” figure commonly quoted refers to the 48 contiguous states and D.C.; USDA publishes separate maximums for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For example, USDA tables and reporting note higher maximums in some places (Hawaii, Alaska, Guam) and smaller or differing minimums in territories; media reports cite Hawaii’s family-of-four allotment as changing to amounts like $1,723 or $1,759 depending on the year and memo referenced ^{[2] [6]}. The USDA memos themselves contain the full breakdown by household size and jurisdiction ^[2].

4. How reporting framed the change: consistent but sometimes mismatched numbers

Most reporting and nonprofit summaries rely on USDA memos and state advisories and consistently cite $973 for FY2024 and $975 for FY2025 for four‑person households in the contiguous U.S. ^{[1] [2] [5]}. Some secondary outlets paraphrase territorial or state variations (e.g., Hawaii, Alaska, Guam) in ways that can appear to conflict if the reader assumes the quoted figure applies nationwide; the underlying USDA documents resolve those differences by separating jurisdictions ^{[2] [6]}.

5. How many households get the maximum and what it means in practice

Analysts note that not all SNAP households receive the maximum allotment; Food Action and Research Center estimates some portion of households do receive the maximum, and reporting indicates the COLA affects eligibility thresholds and benefit levels more broadly ^[5]. Practical benefit amounts for families depend on household income, deductions, and state policies—USDA’s maximum is an upper cap, not the average benefit ^{[4] [5]}. State guidance (e.g., Louisiana) emphasizes the nominal $2 and small-dollar changes in per-household caps when describing what recipients will see ^[3].

6. Limitations and what the sources don’t say

Available sources do not mention longer-term effects of the $2 increase on food security outcomes, nor do they compute how far the $975 allotment stretches under regional food price differences; those analyses are not present in the USDA memos and cited reporting (not found in current reporting). Also, some secondary articles cite different territorial numbers without always pointing readers to the exact USDA table; the USDA COLA memos remain the authoritative source for jurisdictional breakdowns ^{[2] [1]}.

Bottom line: for the contiguous U.S. and D.C., the USDA’s official maximum monthly SNAP allotment for a family of four was $973 in FY2024 and rose to $975 in FY2025; consult the USDA FY2025 COLA memo for the complete jurisdictional tables ^{[1] [2]}.