The Economic Costs of Cutting SNAP: Every $1 in SNAP Cuts to Families with Children Costs Society $14 to $20

The Economic Costs of Cutting SNAP: Every $1 in SNAP Cuts to Families with Children Costs Society $14 to $20

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is facing large-scale cuts under Congressional budget reconciliation efforts. These cuts will affect who is eligible for SNAP and how much they can receive. This brief applies our peer-reviewed benefit-cost model to investigate the economic costs of cutting SNAP for families with children, identifying the costs incurred by society (both impacted SNAP recipients as well as taxpayers in general).

Key Findings

  • Congress is currently considering a range of SNAP cuts that would ultimately result in children and families losing resources that help them cover the cost of food and produce significant short- and long-term economic costs to society. 
     
  • Economic losses are driven by the fact that SNAP cuts reduce the long-term health, earnings, and future tax contributions of child SNAP recipients and increase costs for child protective services, the criminal legal system, and healthcare. Cutting SNAP benefits would also worsen health for parents and increase healthcare costs.
     
  • Every $1 in SNAP lost to children and families would cost society anywhere from $14 to $20 at the national level.
     
  • States that see bigger cuts in SNAP benefits or who have larger shares of their population living on low incomes would see bigger economic losses.
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Suggested Citation:

Koutavas, Anastasia, Buyi Wang, Irwin Garfinkel, Elizabeth Ananat, Sophie Collyer, Megan Curran, Robert Paul Hartley, and Christopher Wimer. 2025. The economic costs of cutting SNAP: Every $1 in SNAP cuts to families with children costs society $14 to $20. Poverty and Social Policy Brief, vol. 9, no. 6. New York: Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University.

Published on June 5, 2025