Which Minnesota counties have the highest and lowest SNAP participation rates after adjusting for poverty and household size?
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Executive summary
No available source in the provided set gives a county-by-county ranking of SNAP participation rates “after adjusting for poverty and household size.” The federal SNAP data portal and Minnesota state publications provide statewide participation counts (about 440,000–454,000 people in recent reporting) and county poverty maps, but none of the supplied documents publish an adjusted county ranking or the precise adjusted rates requested [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. What the data you asked for would require — and what the sources actually provide
To produce “SNAP participation rates after adjusting for poverty and household size” a journalist or analyst needs (a) county-level SNAP participation counts, (b) county-level poverty measures and household-size distributions, and (c) a clear statistical adjustment method (for example, participation per eligible population or a regression controlling for poverty and household size). The USDA’s SNAP data portal lists state and some project-area tables and notes not all states report at county level [3]. Minnesota reporting in the supplied set gives statewide counts only — roughly 440,000+ recipients in recent months and about 453,900 in FY2024 — but does not publish an adjusted county ranking [1] [2] [5].
2. Statewide snapshots you can cite now
Multiple outlets in the supplied material report the state-level scale of SNAP in Minnesota: USAFacts reports about 453,900 people received SNAP during FY2024, equal to 7.8% of the state population [1]. MPR and Minnesota agencies report “over 440,000” monthly recipients in recent 2025 coverage [2]. The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families emphasizes that a large share of recipients live outside the Twin Cities metro and that many households receiving SNAP have jobs, underlining geographic and demographic complexity [6].
3. Poverty context at county level — useful but not sufficient
Minnesota provides public tools and reports on county poverty that would be one input to an adjusted analysis. The Minnesota Public Health Data Access maps and the state’s poverty briefs outline county poverty thresholds and county-by-county differences [4]. Academic work cited by the Humphrey School notes county poverty ranges — from lows around 3.8% (Washington County) to highs above 13% in some rural areas — and recommends supplemental poverty measures that adjust for benefits and housing costs [7]. Those county poverty measures are essential background but do not equal adjusted SNAP participation rates [7] [4].
4. Why simple county participation rates can mislead
Raw county participation percentages (SNAP recipients as a share of county population) will reflect both need and administrative, demographic, or policy differences. For example: urban counties may show higher raw counts because of population density and outreach, while some rural counties may have lower measured participation despite high need because of access barriers. The Humphrey School and state sources recommend using supplemental poverty measures and accounting for geographic housing cost differences when comparing counties [7]. None of the supplied sources show an analysis that isolates SNAP take-up relative to eligible populations across Minnesota counties.
5. Policy changes complicate comparisons for 2025
Major federal changes in 2025 — including new work requirements and eligibility changes under H.R.1 — altered who is eligible and where waivers apply; Minnesota’s agency warned that waiver rules now apply only where local unemployment exceeds 10% [8]. Those policy shifts change both eligibility and participation in ways that make year-to-year county comparisons, or one-off adjusted rankings, less straightforward without up-to-date county-level administrative data [8].
6. What the reporting gap implies for your request
Available sources do not mention a published county-level ranking of SNAP participation adjusted for poverty and household size. The USDA portal confirms not all states report county-level SNAP tables and the supplied Minnesota sources focus on statewide totals or county poverty but stop short of the specific adjusted measure you requested [3] [1] [4]. To answer your question authoritatively would require obtaining county-level SNAP recipient counts from USDA or Minnesota DHS and county-level eligible-population estimates (likely combining Census/SAIPE poverty data and household-size distributions), then performing the adjustment.
7. How to proceed if you want the exact ranking
Request or download county-level SNAP data from the USDA SNAP Data Tables or Minnesota DHS (the USDA page indicates where county/project-area files may or may not be available) and pair that with county poverty and household-size data from the Census SAIPE or Minnesota’s poverty maps [3] [4]. Then compute participation per eligible household or run a regression controlling for poverty rate and average household size. The sources here describe the pieces but do not provide the completed, adjusted county list you asked for [3] [4] [7].
Limitations: This analysis uses only the supplied documents; none include an adjusted county ranking, so I cannot name which Minnesota counties have the highest and lowest adjusted SNAP participation rates from these sources [3] [1] [4].