How has the racial and ethnic composition of SNAP beneficiaries changed over the past decade (2015-2024)?
Executive summary
Between 2015 and 2024 the broad headline is continuity with modest change: non-Hispanic white people remained the single largest racial group receiving SNAP benefits while people of color continued to represent a large and in some measures growing share of participants — roughly four in ten by many counts — driven by demographic realities and economic shocks such as the pandemic (USDA/official reporting and secondary analyses) [1] [2] [3]. Data nuances, differing classification rules and periodic surges in enrollment mean the picture is one of gradual shifts layered atop large year-to-year volatility rather than a dramatic realignment of the program’s racial composition [4] [5].
1. White recipients remain the largest single group, but their share edged down
Across multiple official and analytic accounts, non‑Hispanic white households are still the plurality of SNAP recipients, with USDA-era reporting showing roughly mid‑30s percentage shares in recent years (about 35–37 percent in snapshots cited by USDA and advocacy summaries) — a level slightly lower than earlier in the decade and consistent with a modest downward drift in the white share as overall enrollment rose and demographic change continued [1] [4] [2].
2. People of color account for a substantial and persistent portion — about 40% in many estimates
Researchers and peer‑reviewed studies report that roughly 40 percent of SNAP participants are racial/ethnic minorities, a figure that has persisted across analyses and that underscores SNAP’s deep reach into Black, Hispanic and other nonwhite communities; this share reflects structural economic disparities and the program’s role in poverty reduction for people of color [3] [6].
3. Hispanic and Black participation remains high relative to population size, and disparities widened in the pandemic era
Separate analyses and policy organizations note that Hispanic and Black households remain overrepresented among SNAP participants when measured against population shares, and that food insecurity rose most steeply for Hispanic households with children between 2019 and 2023 — a dynamic that pushed greater representation of those groups among people seeking benefits during and after the pandemic surge [6] [3].
4. COVID‑era enrollment surges and later unwinding complicate year‑to‑year comparisons
The pandemic caused a dramatic spike in SNAP participation and then a partial rollback as emergency provisions ended; USDA and ERS report roughly 41–42 million participants in 2024–2025, reflecting both the pandemic peak and later stabilization, but these swings mean annual racial/ethnic shares can shift simply because different communities returned to work or lost eligibility at different rates [2] [7] [8].
5. Official data sources, definitions and reporting choices shape the story — caution required
Different data sources use different definitions: USDA’s Characteristics reports and federal ACS samples classify race and Hispanic ethnicity differently (single‑race categories, Hispanic as an ethnicity) and the ACS ancestry filters used in viral charts do not map cleanly to SNAP participation totals — leading to frequent misinterpretation and viral misinformation about “which nationality gets the most” SNAP benefits [9] [4] [5].
6. What the available evidence does not permit: precise annual trend lines by group from 2015–2024
While the assembled reporting establishes broad tendencies — white plurality, ~40% people of color, pandemic‑driven volatility, disproportionate impact on Black and Hispanic households — the sources do not provide a complete, year‑by‑year, 2015–2024 tabulation of racial/ethnic shares in a single consistent series suitable for fine‑grained trend claims; that limitation means small shifts should not be overstated without direct access to the full USDA time series and consistent classification rules [4] [2] [1].
7. Stakes and competing narratives: policy debates and misinformation
The racial composition discussion is politically charged: conservative narratives sometimes amplify misleading charts implying heavy noncitizen or foreign‑national use (a claim fact‑checked and debunked by multiple outlets), while advocates emphasize how SNAP reduces racial disparities in poverty and protects children and older adults — both perspectives draw on parts of the record but can mislead when they ignore data definitions and the program’s demographic complexity [4] [5] [6] [10].