How many noncitizens receive SNAP benefits in the US annually?
Executive summary
USDA administrative data and multiple fact-checks show that the vast majority of SNAP recipients are U.S. citizens: about 89% are U.S.-born citizens, another 6.2% are naturalized citizens, 1.1% are refugees and roughly 3.3% are “other noncitizens,” meaning total noncitizen share is about 4.4%–5% of participants by the cited breakdowns (figures summarized from USDA reporting and contemporaneous fact checks) [1] [2] [3].
1. What the federal data say about noncitizen participation
USDA reporting and multiple news fact checks show that nearly 90% of SNAP participants are U.S.-born citizens and that noncitizen participation is a small fraction of the total. The commonly cited breakdowns list 89.4% U.S.-born citizens, 6.2% naturalized citizens, 1.1% refugees, and 3.3% other noncitizens — placing total noncitizens (refugees + other noncitizens) at roughly 4.4% of recipients in the referenced datasets [1] [2] [3].
2. Different ways of counting produce different headlines
Counting by “households with any noncitizen” versus administrative recipient-level counts changes the headline. Some survey-based analyses and viral charts conflate ancestry, household composition, or “households with any food stamp receipt” with immigration status, which leads to misleading claims that immigrants are the majority of SNAP users; fact-checkers and USDA administrative data contradict that narrative [1] [4] [3].
3. Recent law changed who is eligible and complicates comparisons
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (OBBB/OBBBBA/One Big Beautiful Bill Act) altered noncitizen eligibility rules and took effect July 4, 2025, requiring states to implement new criteria immediately for new applicants and at recertification for ongoing households; that change means historical counts before and after July 2025 are not directly comparable without adjustment [5] [6] [7].
4. Who is in the “noncitizen” category used in reports
Reports and fact checks distinguish refugees, lawful permanent residents, asylees, and “other noncitizens.” The 3.3% figure labeled “other noncitizens” can include lawful permanent residents, asylees and sometimes people in other eligible statuses; undocumented people are generally ineligible for federal SNAP, though they may reside in households with eligible members [1] [8] [2].
5. Costs and headcounts reported by researchers
Analyses vary: one administrative-data–based estimate cited in reporting put about 1.764 million noncitizens on SNAP in fiscal year 2023 (used to calculate program costs), but methods differ — survey-based attributions of benefit dollars to immigrant-headed households differ from administrative recipient counts and can overstate or understate direct noncitizen receipt depending on methodology [9].
6. Common misinformation themes and why they spread
Disinformation cycles have amplified misleading charts and claims that immigrants are the main beneficiaries of SNAP. Fact-checks from PolitiFact, Al Jazeera and WIRED cite USDA data showing most recipients are citizens; viral images often misuse ancestry or household-level measures to imply noncitizen dominance, a conclusion not supported by the cited administrative data [4] [1] [3].
7. Policy disputes and political uses of the numbers
Members of Congress and advocacy groups have used these counts for competing arguments: some lawmakers demand investigations into noncitizen use and alleged fraud, while immigrant-rights groups warn that new federal restrictions will wrongly cut off eligible households and that guidance is confusing [10] [11] [8]. Sources disagree on the scope and impact of OBBB’s restrictions; the law narrowed eligibility in 2025, and implementation guidance has been criticized as unclear by advocates [5] [11].
8. What the sources don’t say and remaining limitations
Available sources do not supply a single definitive annual headcount that isolates all categories of “noncitizen” under a harmonized methodology for every year; some numbers (like the 1.764 million figure) come from specific analyses with their own assumptions and are not the same as the USDA’s percentage breakdowns [9] [1]. Also, post-OBBB enrollment trends and the precise annual fiscal cost attributable solely to noncitizen recipients are not comprehensively reported in the provided materials [5] [9].
Bottom line: contemporary government data and multiple fact checks show noncitizens make up a small minority of SNAP participants — roughly 4–5% by the refugee + “other noncitizen” breakdowns cited — and recent 2025 law changes mean headline counts before and after that law require careful methodological adjustments to remain comparable [1] [5] [2].