Which states had the highest number of Black SNAP recipients in 2022?

1. What the supplied sources actually claim about SNAP and race — clear national patterns

The documents and summaries included in your packet converge on a consistent national finding: Black or African American people compose a substantial minority of SNAP participants, typically around one-quarter of recipients, while non-Hispanic White people are the largest single racial group (roughly the mid-30 percent range in the latest USDA snapshots cited). These sources emphasize the disproportionate poverty rates among Black and Hispanic populations as the primary driver of their relatively higher SNAP participation rates, framing the racial composition of SNAP as a product of socioeconomic patterns rather than program bias ^{[3] [4] [5]}. The sources date from recent USDA-derived snapshots and data explainers, but none present a state ranking by Black recipient counts.

2. What the supplied sources do not provide — the missing state-level Black recipient counts

None of the supplied analyses contain the specific answer you asked for: a ranked list of states by number of Black SNAP recipients in 2022. Several pieces explicitly note this absence, stating they discuss overall SNAP participation rates or racial shares but stop short of reporting the absolute number of Black recipients per state ^{[1] [6] [7]}. The gaps are consistent across fact checks, research summaries, and SNAP overview stories: they summarize national-level racial breakdowns and point readers toward data tables for granular figures, rather than embedding state-level Black counts within the narrative ^{[8] [2]}.

3. Where the packet points you to find the missing numbers — official SNAP data portals

The most direct route indicated by the materials is the USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s (FNS) state SNAP data tables and interactive dashboards. One analysis explicitly recommends the SNAP Data Tables and the SNAP in Action dashboard for state-by-state exploration, signaling that the granular counts and demographic cross-tabs necessary to answer your question are available through those government data products rather than in the supplied summaries ^[2]. Another source in the packet, an FNS report on state participation rates, provides the methodology and state participation framing but does not present the racial counts in its narrative text ^[6].

4. Methodological flags and caveats you must consider before using state counts

If you retrieve state-level counts from the USDA/FNS tables, treat them with several important caveats the packet emphasizes: reporting period definitions, single-race versus multi-race classifications, and whether counts reflect individuals or case units. The sources stress that USDA snapshots and fiscal-year tables may use different denominators and definitions, and some public summaries cite racial shares that aggregate data across categories or fiscal years ^{[3] [5]}. These definitional differences can change which state appears largest depending on whether you compare raw counts, per-capita rates, or percent-of-state-population measures.

5. Competing perspectives and why summaries stopped at national shares

The materials you provided include fact-checks and research explainers that prioritize correcting viral claims and clarifying national racial shares rather than producing exhaustive state lists; this choice reflects editorial aims to debunk misconceptions and simplify national context, as noted in the fact-check and Pew-style explainers ^{[1] [9]}. That editorial emphasis creates an evidence gap for a geographically specific question. The packet’s repeated referral to FNS data tools indicates the authors expect readers who need detailed state breakdowns to consult primary data sources rather than narrative pieces ^{[9] [2]}.

6. Bottom line and recommended next steps to get the precise 2022 state rankings

Bottom line: based on the provided materials, you cannot determine which states had the highest number of Black SNAP recipients in 2022 because the supplied sources do not include those state-level counts ^{[1] [6] [8]}. To obtain a definitive answer, download the USDA/FNS 2022 SNAP Data Tables or use the SNAP in Action dashboard to extract “Black or African American” recipient counts by state for 2022, then rank states by absolute counts or by rate per 100,000 residents depending on your analytic goal ^{[2] [6]}. The packet points to these public data products as the necessary primary sources and cautions you to apply consistent classification rules when comparing states ^{[2] [3]}.