How many people are on welfare? There were 70 million people on the Social Security Administration (SSA)’s welfare programs in the United States in 2021.
While general welfare spending is projected to be overshadowed by spending on healthcare in 2023 ($1.64 trillion), it does cost more than national defense ($1.17 trillion) at $1.3 trillion.
We’ve compiled a number of statistics that highlight the cost, demographics and effects of welfare spending in the United States. Read on to see all of the welfare statistics that will be important to know in 2023.
Note: We reference the most updated data available—check each individual source for specifics.
Welfare spending in the United States
The United States spends hundreds of billions of dollars each year on welfare programs that provide food, housing and income to those in need. Many of these programs have their roots in the response to the Great Depression, when President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, which eventually led to the creation of dozens of other state and federal assistance programs.
In 2022, the federal government spent over $1.6 trillion on welfare programs in the United States. (Source: U.S. Government Spending)
In 2023, the United States is projected to spend $1.3 trillion on welfare programs. (Source: U.S. Government Spending)
In 2023, the U.S. is estimated to spend $147 billion on nutrition assistance, including over $28 billion on child nutrition programs. (Source: U.S. Government Spending)
In 2023, around $111 billion is budgeted for SNAP. (Source: USDA)
Housing assistance programs are projected to cost nearly $81 billion in 2023, which is about the same as they cost in 2022. (Source: U.S. Government Spending)
The largest share of housing assistance spending goes to tenant-based rental assistance ($31 billion), the public housing fund ($19 billion) and project-based rental assistance ($14 billion). (Source: U.S. Government Spending)
In 2023, the U.S. will spend an estimated $25 billion on unemployment programs, down from $53 billion in 2022. (Source: U.S. Government Spending)
In 2023, the federal government is projected to spend $536 billion on Medicaid programs in the form of monetary transfers to the states. (Source: U.S. Government Spending)
In 2023, welfare programs will account for around 14 percent of all federal, state and local spending. (Source: U.S. Government Spending)
Poverty in the United States
The poverty rate in the United States had been decreasing steadily since economic recovery began in 2010, but in 2020 the poverty rate started to climb again. With more than one out of every 10 Americans living below the poverty threshold—and 17 percent of children—it’s clear that poverty has created a difficult situation for millions of people.
In 2022, the poverty threshold for a family of four was $27,750, up from $26,500 in 2021. (Source: HealthCare.gov)
In 2021, the poverty rate was 11.6 percent, up from 10.5 percent in 2019. (Source: Statista)
A total of 37.9 million people were living in poverty in 2021, which was slightly higher than the year before. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
The poverty rate for people under the age of 18 was 15.3 percent in 2021, down from 16 percent in 2020. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
The poverty rate for seniors over the age of 65 was 10.3 percent in 2021, up from 8.9 percent in 2020. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
The states with the highest poverty rates are Mississippi (18.7 percent), Louisiana (17.8 percent) and New Mexico (16.8 percent). (Source: USDA)
The states with the lowest poverty rates are New Hampshire (7 percent), Utah (7.3 percent) and Minnesota (8.3 percent). (Source: USDA)
In Mississippi, over a quarter of all children under age 18 live in poverty. (Source: USDA)
Poverty rates of Black Americans (19.5 percent) and Hispanic Americans (17.1 percent) are higher than those of Asian Americans (9.3 percent) and non-Hispanic white Americans (8.1 percent). (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
Welfare program usage and results
Following the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, government spending on welfare programs decreased as additional requirements and restrictions were put in place. Despite having less budget to pull from and more restrictions, the welfare programs in the U.S. have had some success in lowering poverty rates over the past decade.
For every 100 families in poverty in 2020, only 21 were provided cash assistance by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). (Source: CBPP)
The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) in 2021 was 7.8 percent, which was 1.4 percentage points lower than it was in 2020. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
Social Security is the most effective anti-poverty program, having moved more than 26 million people out of poverty in 2021. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
Stimulus payments related to COVID-19 relief legislation helped move nearly 9 million individuals out of poverty in 2021. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
Unemployment benefits that were expanded in 2021 prevented a fall into poverty for over 2 million people. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
For households receiving food stamps or SNAP benefits in 2021, nearly 38 percent had at least one member over the age of 60, and around 48 percent had a child age 18 or younger. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
Just over a quarter of households receiving food stamps or SNAP benefits in 2021 were married couples. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
Around 91 million people were enrolled in Medicaid in September 2022. (Source: Medicaid)
More than 41 million individuals received SNAP benefits in 2022. (Source: USDA)
The average individual monthly benefit for SNAP is $231. (Source: USDA)
In 2021, the states with the highest rates of SNAP participation included New Mexico at 25 percent and Louisiana at 20 percent. (Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
Welfare fraud is the act of improperly stating or withholding information to receive higher payments. Eligibility criteria for welfare programs vary, and individual states handle the investigations into fraud. Statistics from the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) help put welfare fraud into perspective.
Government benefits fraud has decreased by 28.3 percent since 2017. (Source: USSC)
The total number of government benefits fraud offenders on record in 2021 is just 342, down from 477 in 2017 but up from 274 in 2020. (Source: USSC)
Nearly 67 percent of government benefits fraud offenders were men, and the average offender is 46 years old. (Source: USSC)
Over 17 percent of benefits fraud cases in 2021 involved losses greater than $550,000. (Source: USSC)
Nearly 68 percent of fraud offenders had little or no prior criminal history. (Source: USSC)
The top four locations for government benefits fraud offenders were in Florida, Nebraska, Ohio and Virginia. (Source: USSC)
Welfare demographics
People across all ages, genders and ethnic backgrounds struggle with poverty in the United States. As a result, the recipients and beneficiaries of welfare programs are an extraordinarily diverse group.
In 2021, over 55 percent of all people in the U.S. living in poverty were women. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
In 2021, 33.5 percent of households receiving SNAP benefits were headed by a female without a spouse. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
Over 46 percent of households receiving SNAP benefits included at least one disabled person in 2021. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
54 percent of Medicaid recipients are women. (Source: Medicaid)
Between 2018 and 2019, children accounted for nearly39 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries but just 16 percent of expenditures. (Source: Medicaid)
A quarter of adult Medicaid recipients rate their health as fair or poor. (Source: Medicaid)
Many different ethnicities receive SNAP benefits: the data from June 2020 to September 2020 shows that SNAP benefits were distributed to Native Americans (1.5 percent), Asian Americans (2.4 percent), Hispanic Americans (11.8 percent), Black Americans (28.4 percent), white Americans (38.4 percent) and others (17.5 percent). (Source: USDA)
Welfare in the Workforce
Welfare programs predominantly help Americans who receive low wages. The U.S. Government Accountability Office discovered that the top employers of Americans enrolled in welfare programs were Walmart and McDonald’s—companies that have historically paid their workers low wages.
Among employed individuals, the poverty rate is 4.1 percent as of 2020, down from seven percent in 2015. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Individuals employed in the service industry are more likely to be in poverty than those working in other occupational sectors. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Women are over 20 percent more likely than men to be members of the working poor. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Part-time workers are nearly four times more likely to be in poverty than full-time workers. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
51 percent of adults enrolled in SNAP work at least 35 hours a week for nearly the whole year. (Source: Government Accountability Office)
33.5 percent of families receiving SNAP benefits in 2021 included two or more workers during the previous year. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
More employed adults enrolled in Medicaid work for companies within the private sector than the public sector. (Source: Government Accountability Office)
The more than $1 trillion spent on welfare programs by the government every year plays a critical role in the lives of millions of individuals and families who need support with housing, healthcare and food. While these programs are often targets of criticism, they remain an important part of the support network for people living in the United States.
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