Puerto Rico Has The Highest Share Of US Households On Welfare; Utah, The Lowest

Between persistent inflation, trade wars, and AI-related job disruptions, the outlook on the U.S. economy is once again ticking to “uncertain.”

If things get worse and unemployment starts to tick up, then more Americans might be forced to rely on state support to make ends meet.

But what’s the current picture? How many families in the country are already in need of benefits?

This map, via Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao, shows the share of households in each state that reported receiving cash public assistance (also known as TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) or food assistance (also known as SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) in 2023.

The data for this visualization comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s. Figures are rounded.

Ranked: U.S. Households on Welfare by State

Puerto Rico stands out with 47% of households receiving assistance.

This reflects sustained economic challenges and unique territorial program structures.

Rank
State or Jurisdiction
Code
Share of Households
on Welfare
# of Households
on Welfare
1
Puerto Rico
PR
47%
586K
2
New Mexico
NM
20%
162K
3
West Virginia
WV
18%
129K
4
Louisiana
LA
17%
308K
5
Oregon
OR
17%
284K
6
New York
NY
16%
1253K
7
Massachusetts
MA
15%
418K
8
Oklahoma
OK
15%
224K
9
Pennsylvania
PA
15%
787K
10
Rhode Island
RI
15%
67K
11
Alabama
AL
14%
277K
12
District of Columbia
DC
14%
46K
13
Florida
FL
14%
1157K
14
Illinois
IL
14%
723K
15
Michigan
MI
14%
571K
16
Mississippi
MS
14%
162K
17
Nevada
NV
14%
162K
18
Alaska
AK
13%
35K
19
California
CA
13%
1748K
20
Connecticut
CT
13%
182K
21
Georgia
GA
13%
524K
22
Hawaii
HI
13%
63K
23
Kentucky
KY
13%
240K
24
Maine
ME
13%
76K
25
North Carolina
NC
13%
553K
26
Ohio
OH
13%
641K
27
Washington
WA
13%
382K
28
Delaware
DE
12%
46K
29
Maryland
MD
12%
279K
30
Tennessee
TN
12%
329K
31
Texas
TX
12%
1322K
32
Vermont
VT
12%
32K
33
Wisconsin
WI
12%
282K
34
Arizona
AZ
11%
311K
35
Arkansas
AR
11%
132K
36
Missouri
MO
11%
264K
37
South Carolina
SC
11%
230K
38
Indiana
IN
10%
262K
39
Iowa
IA
10%
131K
40
New Jersey
NJ
10%
342K
41
Virginia
VA
10%
320K
42
Colorado
CO
9%
215K
43
Idaho
ID
9%
63K
44
Minnesota
MN
9%
201K
45
Montana
MT
9%
42K
46
Nebraska
NE
9%
69K
47
South Dakota
SD
9%
32K
48
Kansas
KS
8%
90K
49
New Hampshire
NH
7%
39K
50
North Dakota
ND
7%
24K
51
Utah
UT
6%
68K
52
Wyoming
WY
6%
14K

Among the states, New Mexico has the highest share at 20%, followed by West Virginia (18%), Oregon (17%), Louisiana (17%), and New York (16%).

A large cluster of state jurisdictions have low‑to‑mid teens of U.S. households on welfare.

And at the other end, Utah and Wyoming are lowest at 6%, with New Hampshire and North Dakota at 7% and Kansas at 8%.

Regional Patterns and Notable Outliers

Appalachia and parts of the South post elevated welfare participation, mirroring higher poverty rates in the region.

However, even the richer Northeast has several higher‑than‑average states with households on benefits.

This includes Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island (each 15%), alongside low New Hampshire (7%).

Meanwhile, on the West Coast, Oregon is an outlier at 17%, while California and Washington are closer to the national middle at 13%.

Overall, the median across the 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico is 13%, showing most places cluster in a narrow band.

Policy Design Matters for Welfare Access

Safety‑net participation reflects more than local poverty rates.

For example, SNAP is federally funded but state‑administered, and states differ in outreach, enrolment ease, and recertification cadence.

Cash assistance (often via TANF) is a capped block grant, and states set their own eligibility thresholds and work rules, which can meaningfully raise or lower participation.

States Will Have to Start Paying for Food Stamp Programs

Per reporting from Politico, Trump’s recent megabill has slashed federal funding for safety net programs and pushes food aid costs to the states.

Draft proposals would require states to cover between 5% and 25% of benefit costs starting in 2028 and pick up 75% of administrative expenses.

This marks a major change from today, where the federal government funds SNAP benefits entirely.

As a result states with higher participation and elevated error rates would face the greatest budget implications if these plans are implemented.