This dataset describes the average cost per moderately priced meal, the maximum total Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in 2025 and the gap between meal cost and benefits for all US counties. It is constructed using the 2024 Current Population Survey (CPS) estimates of SNAP participation by county; Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap data, including NielsenIQ county-level food price data for 2025, adjusted for state and local taxes and US Office of Management and Budget geographic classifications; Fiscal Year 2025 and Fiscal Year 2026 US Department of Agriculture maximum benefit allotments; and the 2023 Rural Urban Continuum Codes. The dataset was used in the feature, Does SNAP Cover the Cost of a Meal in Your County? (https://www.urban.org/data-tools/does-snap-cover-cost-meal-your-county)
Dataset Info
- Modified 2026-10-28
- Release Date 2026-10-26
- Temporal Coverage
- License odc-by
- Granularity
- Contact Name Urban Institute
- Contact Email [email protected]
- Public Access Level public
Urban Extended Info
- Modified 2026-10-28
- Release Date 2026-10-26
- Geographic Level
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Data Value
- Data Quality
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Urban Publications
- Citation Requirements Urban Institute. 2026. SNAP Meal Gap (2025). Accessible from https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/snap-meal-gap-2025. Data originally sourced from , developed at the Urban Institute, and made available under the ODC-BY 1.0 Attribution License.
