How does SNAP affect poverty in New York City? While SNAP is designed to be an anti-hunger program, it also plays a substantial role in reducing poverty both nationwide and in New York City. Poverty Tracker data collected between 2022 and 2024 provides insights into how SNAP, as designed under pre-OBBBA policy, reduces poverty among recipients in New York City. Roughly 1.8 million New Yorkers receive SNAP benefits in a typical month, with families receiving an average benefit value of $389 per month, or $4,668 per year if one received benefits in all months of the year. 9 Estimates from the Poverty Tracker show that SNAP benefits comprise more than 10% of the incomes of the average recipient in New York City and have a notable impact on recipients’ poverty rates. We find that SNAP reduces the poverty rate by more than 19% — or 10 percentage points (p.p.) — among all recipients in New York City (Figure 1). In other words, SNAP lifts approximately 1 in 10 recipients in New York City above the poverty line. Of recipients in the city, more than 1 in 4 (28%) are children and more than 1 in 5 (22%) are seniors, according to Poverty Tracker data. 10 SNAP has even more pronounced anti-poverty effects among these groups (12 p.p. and 13 p.p. reductions, respectively) (Figure 1). 11 Anti-poverty impact of SNAP among recipients in New York City (2022-2024) Figure 1 Anti-poverty impact of SNAP
Poverty rate without SNAP Poverty rate with SNAP
70%
65%
19% (13 p.p.)
60%
52%
51%
19% (10 p.p.)
50%
47%
25% (12 p.p.)
41%
40%
35%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Overall
Children
Elderly
Source: Annual Poverty Tracker survey data, second through sixth Poverty Tracker cohorts. Note: Results based on three-year average of 2022, 2023, and 2024 data.
9 These averages are drawn from monthly SNAP caseload and expenditure data from January through October 2025. See New York State Office of Tem- porary and Disability Assistance, “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Caseloads and Expenditures: Beginning 2002.” 10 Our estimate of the share of SNAP recipients in New York City that are children or seniors align with state and congressional-district level administra- tive data. According to the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, 30% of SNAP recipients across New York State are children and 21% are seniors. Across congressional districts entirely within New York City (NY-04 to NY-15), the share of SNAP recipients that are children rang- es from 18% to 36%, and the share who are seniors ranges from about 18% to 46%. See New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, “SNAP Benefits by Congressional District.” 11 Note that the SPM poverty thresholds in New York City are higher than in other areas of the county because of the city’s high cost of living. SNAP bene- fits may have a more substantial impact on the poverty rate of recipients in areas with a lower cost of living.
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SNAP RECIPIENTS IN NEW YORK CITY AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF FEDERAL CUTS TO SNAP
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