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2005
Eligibility Limits ]
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of Food Stamp Households ]
[ Food Stamp Program Participation
Data ] [Participation Access Rates]
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2004 Food Stamp Program Access Index (PAI) State-by-State
(previously called Participation Access Rate or PAR)
USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has calculated the state-by-state "Program Access Index (PAI)" for calendar year 2004. The PAI measures the extent to which low-income people are participating in the Food Stamp Program.
The PAI is a national and state-by-state estimate that is less precise than, but more current than the official participation rates. The latter take into account not only income but other eligibility criteria, such as citizenship status and household resources to determine how many potentially eligible households there are. The participation rate thus provides the percentage of people that are actually receiving benefits.
Determining the official rate entails a significant lag time; calculation of the PAI allows an assessment of more recent participation trends. Also, the Census Bureau bases poverty on annual income while the Food Stamp Program eligibility is based on monthly income.
The PAIs are one basis for monetary awards that USDA makes under the high performance bonuses established in the 2002 Farm Bill. Other categories for bonus awards relate to timeliness of processing, low negative error rates, and payment accuracy.
In September 2005 FNS recognized states for superior achievements, including the states with the highest PAIs and the states with the most improved PAI. The national average was 66.3 percent in 2004, up nearly five percentage points over 2003.
Below are the PAIs for each state and the nation for 2004 and 2003 (calendar years). For more information on Food Stamp Program access issues, contact evollinger@frac.org.
| State | 2004 PAI | Rank | 2003 PAI | Rank | Improvement (Percentage Point) |
|
| Oklahoma * | 120.6% |
1 |
96.6% |
2 |
24.0% |
|
| Missouri | 104.8% |
2 |
103.5% |
1 |
1.3% |
|
| West Virginia | 101.4% |
3 |
80.5% |
11 |
20.9% |
|
| Oregon * | 101.2% |
4 |
91.4% |
4 |
9.8% |
|
| Louisiana | 97.2% |
5 |
88.5% |
8 |
8.7% |
|
| Maine | 96.2% |
6 |
91.6% |
3 |
4.6% |
|
| District of Columbia | 95.6% |
7 |
90.9% |
6 |
4.7% |
|
| Hawaii | 92.4% |
8 |
85.5% |
10 |
6.9% |
|
| Vermont | 90.8% |
9 |
80.1% |
12 |
10.7% |
|
| Alaska | 90.0% |
10 |
76.8% |
17 |
13.2% |
|
| Tennessee | 88.3% |
11 |
91.0% |
5 |
-2.7% |
|
| Arkansas | 86.6% |
12 |
66.9% |
25 |
19.7% |
|
| South Carolina | 82.1% |
13 |
90.1% |
7 |
-8.0% |
|
| Georgia | 77.6% |
14 |
77.7% |
16 |
-0.1% |
|
| Delaware | 77.3% |
15 |
79.5% |
15 |
-2.2% |
|
| Kentucky | 76.8% |
16 |
87.5% |
9 |
-10.7% |
|
| North Dakota * | 76.7% |
17 |
75.2% |
18 |
1.5% |
|
| Indiana | 75.2% |
18 |
79.9% |
13 |
-4.7% |
|
| New Mexico * | 74.7% |
19 |
60.5% |
33 |
14.2% |
|
| Michigan * | 73.8% |
20 |
74.4% |
19 |
-0.6% |
|
| Ohio | 73.5% |
21 |
71.9% |
21 |
1.6% |
|
| Pennsylvania | 71.6% |
22 |
67.1% |
24 |
4.5% |
|
| Illinois | 71.5% |
23 |
61.5% |
32 |
10.0% |
|
| Mississippi * | 71.4% |
24 |
79.9% |
13 |
-8.5% |
|
| Nebraska * | 71.3% |
25 |
62.3% |
29 |
9.0% |
|
| Minnesota * | 71.0% |
26 |
64.1% |
27 |
6.9% |
|
| New Hampshire | 70.9% |
27 |
62.3% |
29 |
8.6% |
|
| Idaho * | 69.4% |
28 |
62.5% |
28 |
6.9% |
|
| Virginia | 67.7% |
29 |
54.6% |
40 |
13.1% |
|
| Washington * | 67.3% |
30 |
55.1% |
39 |
12.2% |
|
| Arizona * | 66.2% |
31 |
67.7% |
22 |
-1.5% |
|
| Alabama | 65.4% |
32 |
72.4% |
20 |
-7.0% |
|
| South Dakota * | 65.4% |
32 |
67.3% |
23 |
-1.9% |
|
| Montana * | 64.4% |
34 |
56.1% |
37 |
8.3% |
|
| Rhode Island | 64.1% |
35 |
62.2% |
31 |
1.9% |
|
| Texas | 63.2% |
36 |
53.5% |
42 |
9.7% |
|
| North Carolina * | 62.1% |
37 |
52.3% |
44 |
9.8% |
|
| Florida | 61.1% |
38 |
49.5% |
47 |
11.6% |
|
| Iowa | 60.0% |
39 |
60.4% |
34 |
-0.4% |
|
| Massachusetts | 58.4% |
40 |
47.2% |
49 |
11.2% |
|
| New York * | 57.9% |
41 |
54.4% |
41 |
3.5% |
|
| Connecticut | 57.1% |
42 |
66.4% |
26 |
-9.3% |
|
| Kansas * | 56.7% |
43 |
57.1% |
36 |
-0.4% |
|
| Colorado * | 54.8% |
44 |
50.1% |
46 |
4.7% |
|
| New Jersey | 54.3% |
45 |
46.8% |
50 |
7.5% |
|
| Wyoming * | 54.2% |
46 |
55.3% |
38 |
-1.1% |
|
| Utah * | 53.8% |
47 |
51.8% |
45 |
2.0% |
|
| Maryland | 50.9% |
48 |
52.5% |
43 |
-1.6% |
|
| Wisconsin * | 49.5% |
49 |
58.6% |
35 |
-9.1% |
|
| Nevada * | 47.6% |
50 |
47.8% |
48 |
-0.2% |
|
| California * | 42.1% |
51 |
39.0% |
51 |
3.1% |
|
| US | 66.3% |
61.5% |
4.8% |
|||
* State has a FDPIR program and participants are included in their total participant counts.
View data from previous years (2001-2003).
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