What factors explain racial and ethnic disparities in SNAP participation in Minnesota for 2024-2025?
Executive summary
Racial and ethnic disparities in Minnesota SNAP participation in 2024–25 are driven primarily by differences in poverty, household composition (especially families with children), immigration and citizenship rules, and state policy choices that alter eligibility and benefit calculation; Minnesota had about 453,900 people on SNAP in FY2024 (≈7.8% of the state) and more than 63% of participants were in families with children [1] [2]. National and state reporting also show that people of color are overrepresented among SNAP recipients relative to their share of the population, even as whites make up the largest single racial group in SNAP nationally [3] [4].
1. Poverty, income gaps and concentrated need explain much of the difference
Economic need is the clearest driver: SNAP eligibility is income‑based and Minnesota data show that many participants have incomes below the federal poverty line and the program reduced poverty for large numbers of people in 2024 [5] [2]. State and national analyses repeatedly link higher SNAP participation to groups with lower median incomes and higher child poverty rates — patterns that vary sharply across racial and ethnic groups in Minnesota [6] [1].
2. Household composition: children and single‑parent families amplify participation
Minnesota reporting finds households with children — and especially single female‑parent households — are far more likely to be on SNAP than childless married households; in 2023, 12.3% of households with children participated vs. 6.3% without, and single female‑parent households had much higher participation [1]. Because communities of color in Minnesota are more likely to include families with children and single‑parent households, that household composition increases SNAP participation rates among those groups [1] [7].
3. Policy design and state expansions reshape who qualifies
Minnesota’s rules on gross/net income tests, elderly/disabled exemptions and Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) alter eligibility relative to strict federal floors. The state uses higher gross income tests for BBCE units and allows different treatment for elderly/disabled members, which affects which households—often including multigenerational or disabled households—qualify [8] [9]. Minnesota’s administrative parameters (income deductions, resource rules, minimum allotments) materially affect enrollments and benefit levels [8] [10].
4. Administrative performance, error rates and paperwork influence access unevenly
USDA performance metrics show Minnesota’s APT, PER and CAPER rates that reflect correctness and timeliness of SNAP decisions; Minnesota’s PER (payment error rate) and CAPER figures were notably outside USDA “acceptable” benchmarks in 2024, and errors often disproportionately affect applicants who face language, technology or documentation barriers — barriers more common in immigrant and non‑English‑speaking communities [11]. Minnesota reporting also notes many payment errors result from agency processes, which can reduce benefits for eligible people and differentially deter or block access for marginalized groups [11] [2].
5. Immigration, citizenship and recent federal changes alter eligibility for specific groups
Federal eligibility for noncitizens has been a recurrent factor: national coverage shows confusion and policy shifts about who among immigrant communities can access SNAP, and recent federal actions (noted in reporting through 2025) have removed eligibility for some immigrant groups, affecting participation patterns among refugees, asylees and other noncitizens [12] [13]. Misinformation about immigrant use of SNAP is common; authoritative USDA data show whites are the single largest racial group among SNAP recipients nationally, but that does not erase higher per‑capita participation among many communities of color [3] [4].
6. Demographics and geography concentrate needs in certain racial groups
Minnesota’s population is majority white (≈78% in 2025), with Black, Asian, Hispanic and Native American minorities concentrated in particular metro and rural areas; persistent gaps in income, education, and employment for American Indian, Hispanic and Black Minnesotans produce higher SNAP need in those communities [14] [6] [15]. In short, smaller minority populations can show high per‑capita SNAP rates because of concentrated poverty and structural disparities [6].
7. Competing interpretations and data limits
Sources disagree about how to describe racial composition of SNAP recipients: national USDA summaries show whites are the largest single group by count while analysts and advocacy groups stress that people of color are overrepresented relative to population shares and bear disproportionate harm from benefit cuts [3] [4] [7]. Data collection limits — large shares of “race unknown” or differing race/ethnicity categories across datasets — constrain precise attribution of disparities [16] [13].
8. Bottom line and implications for 2024–25 policy debates
Disparities in Minnesota SNAP participation reflect measurable drivers: poverty, family structure, state eligibility rules, administrative performance, and immigration status. Policy choices that change income tests, error‑reduction investments, or federal immigration eligibility will shift racial and ethnic patterns of participation — and recent federal and state policy moves cited in reporting (including benefit adjustments and cost‑shifts tied to state payment error rates) are likely to change who is served and who is left out [17] [2] [5]. Available sources do not mention granular county‑level racial breakdowns of Minnesota SNAP participation for 2024–25.