FRAC - Food Stamp Participation Rates 2003

Federal Food Programs

[ Food Stamp Program | Frequently Asked Questions | 2005 Eligibility Limits ]
[ Food Stamp Outreach | Characteristics of Food Stamp Households ]
[ Food Stamp Program Participation Data ] [Participation Access Rates]
[Application Processing Timeliness]

2005 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 2005. 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.

For more information on Food Stamp Program access issues, contact evollinger@frac.org.

State	2005 PAI	Rank	2004 PAI	Improvement	Rank
Alabama	54.7%	21	53.3%	1.41%	26
Alaska	59.5%	14	75.9%	-16.41%	51
Arizona	49.2%	30	48.3%	0.94%	29
Arkansas	60.0%	13	57.1%	2.84%	16
California	32.8%	51	31.0%	1.83%	25
Colorado	34.7%	49	36.3%	-1.58%	41
Connecticut	55.7%	20	55.3%	0.43%	33
Delaware	56.7%	17	53.1%	3.67%	10
District of Columbia	72.9%	2	74.5%	-1.68%	43
Florida	40.8%	44	43.1%	-2.29%	44
Georgia	56.4%	18	52.6%	3.80%	8
Hawaii	60.3%	12	56.8%	3.59%	12
Idaho	35.0%	48	33.0%	1.97%	24
Illinois	60.5%	11	55.5%	4.98%	2
Indiana	56.9%	16	58.6%	-1.63%	42
Iowa	49.4%	28	44.6%	4.82%	4
Kansas	42.5%	41	42.6%	-0.02%	37
Kentucky	64.6%	5	60.9%	3.62%	11
Louisiana	63.7%	8	67.7%	-4.08%	47
Maine	72.3%	3	68.5%	3.82%	7
Maryland	49.2%	29	45.8%	3.49%	14
Massachusetts	47.3%	34	45.4%	1.97%	23
Michigan	64.0%	7	60.3%	3.78%	9
Minnesota	41.8%	43	45.3%	-3.51%	46
Mississippi	43.7%	40	48.0%	-4.32%	48
Missouri	77.4%	1	78.0%	-0.60%	38
Montana	47.0%	37	44.8%	2.17%	21
Nebraska	45.4%	39	44.5%	0.93%	30
Nevada	33.4%	50	31.4%	2.07%	22
New Hampshire	42.0%	42	37.8%	4.20%	6
New Jersey	39.9%	45	39.6%	0.29%	34
New Mexico	52.3%	26	49.6%	2.65%	19
New York	53.5%	23	48.6%	4.96%	3
North Carolina	48.4%	31	45.1%	3.25%	15
North Dakota	47.8%	32	43.0%	4.78%	5
Ohio	54.0%	22	53.2%	0.87%	31
Oklahoma	59.1%	15	60.1%	-1.05%	40
Oregon	64.2%	6	64.1%	0.17%	36
Pennsylvania	56.2%	19	53.4%	2.75%	18
Rhode Island	46.9%	38	46.1%	0.77%	32
South Carolina	61.4%	10	61.2%	0.24%	35
South Dakota	47.0%	36	51.4%	-4.40%	49
Tennessee	71.2%	4	73.7%	-2.51%	45
Texas	47.7%	33	48.3%	-0.64%	39
Utah	38.4%	47	36.1%	2.36%	20
Vermont	52.2%	27	56.7%	-4.54%	50
Virginia	52.5%	25	49.7%	2.76%	17
Washington	53.5%	24	46.0%	7.51%	1
West Virginia	63.2%	9	62.3%	0.94%	28
Wisconsin	47.1%	35	43.5%	3.55%	13
Wyoming	39.1%	46	37.8%	1.30%	27
US	50.6%		49.1%	1.47%

View data from previous years (2001-2003).