More people tapped food stamps to pay for groceries in September as the recession and lackluster recovery have prompted more Americans to turn to government safety net programs to make ends meet.
Some 42.9 million people collected food stamps last month, up 1.2% from the prior month and 16.2% higher than the same time a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Nationwide 14% of the population relied on food stamps as of September but in some states the percentage was much higher. In Washington, D.C., Mississippi and Tennessee – the states with the largest share of citizens receiving benefits – more than a fifth of the population in each was collecting food stamps.
Food Stamp Use, by State
State | Number of people on food stamps Sept. 2010 | Year-over-year change | Month-over-month change | Percent of population on food stamps |
U.S. total | 42,911,042 | 16.2% | 1.2% | 14% |
Alabama | 849,785 | 12.8% | 1.2% | 18% |
Alaska | 81,196 | 15.4% | -0.1% | 11.6% |
Arizona | 1,044,410 | 10.9% | -0.3% | 15.8% |
Arkansas | 483,309 | 8.4% | 0.7% | 16.7% |
California | 3,466,974 | 17.7% | 1.2% | 9.4% |
Colorado | 424,878 | 16.8% | 0.1% | 8.5% |
Connecticut | 364,341 | 22.8% | 1.4% | 10.4% |
Delaware | 124,755 | 21.9% | 2.6% | 14.1% |
District of Columbia | 128,759 | 16.4% | 1.7% | 21.5% |
Florida | 2,881,019 | 25.8% | 2.5% | 15.5% |
Georgia | 1,693,976 | 16.4% | 0.7% | 17.2% |
Hawaii | 147,250 | 15.7% | 1.2% | 11.4% |
Idaho | 214,378 | 39.1% | 1.2% | 13.9% |
Illinois | 1,839,051 | 18.6% | 8.5% | 14.2% |
Indiana | 857,992 | 13.3% | 0.6% | 13.4% |
Iowa | 352,164 | 10.9% | 0% | 11.7% |
Kansas | 291,126 | 18% | 0.6% | 10.3% |
Kentucky | 804,538 | 8.7% | -0.1% | 18.6% |
Louisiana | 864,112 | 10.3% | 0.9% | 19.2% |
Maine | 237,530 | 9.6% | 0.1% | 18% |
Maryland | 616,102 | 20.4% | 1.5% | 10.8% |
Massachusetts | 785,435 | 12.2% | 1% | 11.9% |
Michigan | 1,884,751 | 15.2% | 0.4% | 18.9% |
Minnesota | 455,852 | 17.2% | 0.7% | 8.7% |
Mississippi | 601,432 | 8.7% | 1.1% | 20.4% |
Missouri | 928,183 | 7.9% | 0.1% | 15.5% |
Montana | 119,039 | 15.8% | 0.1% | 12.2% |
Nebraska | 169,385 | 14.5%td> | 0% | 9.4% |
Nevada | 314,253 | 28.7% | 1.5% | 11.9% |
New Hampshire | 110,576 | 20.4% | 0.6% | 8.3% |
New Jersey | 690,075 | 27.2% | 1.9% | 7.9% |
New Mexico | 390,154 | 20.1% | 0.6% | 19.4% |
New York | 2,895,995 | 13.3% | 0.8% | 14.8% |
North Carolina | 1,476,207 | 18.2% | 2.3% | 15.7% |
North Dakota | 61,229 | 7.1% | 0.3% | 9.5% |
Ohio | 1,683,877 | 11.9% | 0.8% | 14.6% |
Oklahoma | 613,531 | 14% | 0.9% | 16.6% |
Oregon | 738,702 | 13.2% | 0.7% | 19.3% |
Pennsylvania | 1,644,259 | 13.2% | 0.3% | 13% |
Rhode Island | 150,450 | 26% | 1.3% | 14.3% |
South Carolina | 832,651 | 11.3% | 0.3% | 18.3% |
South Dakota | 99,504 | 14.9% | 0% | 12.2% |
Tennessee | 1,267,478 | 8% | 0.5% | 20.1% |
Texas | 3,837,839 | 24.6% | 0.9% | 15.5% |
Utah | 269,819 | 25.9% | 3.8% | 9.7% |
Vermont | 87,838 | 7.7% | 1% | 14.1% |
Virginia | 826,277 | 13.8% | 0.7% | 10.5% |
Washington | 1,006,518 | 16.4% | 0.8% | 15.1% |
West Virginia | 343,764 | 5.1% | -0.6% | 18.9% |
Wisconsin | 762,287 | 21.3% | 0.6% | 13.5% |
Wyoming | 35,615 | 17.2% | 0.2% | 6.5% |
Sources: USDA, WSJ Research
By Sara Murray
December 8, 2010, 6:00 AM ET
Source: The Wall Street Journal