Every SNAP article quotes a maximum for your household size, but the real number depends on where you live. From October 1, 2026, a family of four gets $1,023 in most of America. The same family gets between $1,306 and $2,027 in Alaska depending on the zone, $1,655 in Hawaii, and $1,507 in Guam.
Five different tables govern one federal program. Hawaii's number is going down, and the details below explain why.
The FY2027 tables also carry two structural firsts. Households of 9 to 17 people now add a fixed $225 per extra member. Households of 18 or more hit a new hard cap of $3,887, a ceiling created by the 2025 federal benefits law.
Neither existed a year ago. Both change how very large households should read every older article online.
This page collects every FY2027 maximum by size and region, then shows why you rarely receive the full figure. It also tracks what changed from FY2026. The inflation mechanics sit in the 2027 SNAP COLA guide, while this page holds the tables and the math.
$1,023
Family-of-four maximum in 48 states and D.C., up $29
5 tables
48 states, Alaska (3 zones), Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands
$187
Average actual benefit per person, far below the maximum
48 States and D.C.: The FY2027 Table
These figures apply everywhere from Alabama to Wyoming plus the District of Columbia. They are effective October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
Household size | FY2026 | FY2027 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | $298 | $306 | Minimum-benefit floor is $25 for eligible 1-2 person cases |
2 | $546 | $562 | Each member adds roughly $256 of maximum |
3 | $785 | $808 | Most common household size on the rolls |
4 | $994 | $1,023 | The headline number every outlet quotes |
5 | $1,183 | $1,217 | Standard deduction tier steps up here |
6 | $1,421 | $1,463 | — |
7 | $1,571 | $1,616 | — |
8 | $1,789 | $1,841 | — |
9-17 | +$218 each | +$225 each | Fixed add-on per member |
18 or more | +$218 each | $3,887 cap | New — first-ever ceiling for very large households |
The 18-plus cap, decoded
Under the old formula, a hypothetical 20-person household would have reached roughly $4,447 in FY2027 dollars. The new law stops the ladder at $3,887 for 18 or more members. Multigenerational families and shared shelters should budget around that ceiling and treat every additional member as cost-sharing.
Reading the ladder correctly matters for mid-size households. A ten-person household in the 48 states gets $1,841 for the first eight members. Add $225 for each of the two extra members and the total is $2,291.
A twelve-person household reaches $2,741, and every extra member through 17 adds exactly $225. The older habit of adding $218 per person no longer produces the right answer anywhere on the ladder.
Foster children and most exchanged-care arrangements count as household members for sizing. Roommates who buy and prepare food separately do not. The composition rules in our household composition guide decide who fills the ladder before the table prices it.
Alaska: Three Zones, Three Tables
Alaska's food costs split the state into three pricing zones, and the FY2027 maximums differ by hundreds of dollars between them. Urban Alaska covers Anchorage, Fairbanks, and nearby road-connected areas, and it pays the lowest of the three.
Rural 1 covers communities with some road or barge access. Rural 2 covers the most remote villages, where a gallon of milk can cost triple the national average.
Household size | Urban | Rural 1 | Rural 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | $392 | $499 | $608 |
2 | $718 | $916 | $1,115 |
3 | $1,032 | $1,316 | $1,602 |
4 | $1,306 | $1,666 | $2,027 |
5 | $1,555 | $1,982 | $2,413 |
6 | $1,868 | $2,382 | $2,900 |
7 | $2,064 | $2,632 | $3,204 |
8 | $2,352 | $2,999 | $3,650 |
Each additional | +$287 | +$366 | +$446 |
Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands
Hawaii is the FY2027 outlier because its maximums drop at every household size. One person gets $496, down from $506, and a family of four gets $1,655, down from $1,689.
Eight people get $2,979 instead of $3,040, and each additional member adds $364. The decrease follows the regional Thrifty Food Plan repricing explained in the COLA guide.
Island food costs fell relative to the mainland survey, so the indexed maximums follow. Hawaii's minimum benefit also drops a dollar, from $41 to $40.
Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands move the other way. Guam's FY2027 maximums run $452 for one person up to $2,714 for eight, with $331 per additional member.
The Virgin Islands run $394 to $2,367, with $289 per additional member. Both territories price above the mainland because nearly all food arrives by ship.
Both keep the same eligibility rules as the states. That includes the uncapped shelter deduction for elderly and disabled households, which makes their high rents count fully. The FNA FY2027 COLA tables carry both territory schedules in full.
The Hawaii SNAP calculator applies the island table automatically. The other territories sit in the states directory with their own pages.
Why You Almost Never Receive the Maximum
The maximum is what a household with zero countable net income receives. It is the benchmark, not the norm.
Your actual benefit is computed in two moves. Count every deduction to reach net income, then subtract 30% of it from the maximum.
The deductions include 20% of earned income, the standard deduction, and dependent care. Medical costs over $35 for seniors and disabled members count, as do shelter costs above half of adjusted income.
A family of four with $1,000 in countable net income gets $1,023 minus $300, or $723. The same family with $2,000 net gets $423.
The gap between the tables and real deposit slips is enormous in aggregate. USDA reports the average benefit was about $187 per person and $345 per household in mid-2026, against a $1,023 four-person ceiling.
Most of that gap is income, but some of it is deductions people never claim. Utilities, medical costs, and childcare are the fixable part.
The full walkthrough, with worked examples, is in our guide to how SNAP eligibility is determined. The income side of the ledger is in the income limits guide.
Two boundary cases complete the picture. One- or two-person households whose formula lands at or near zero receive the $25 minimum benefit in FY2027.
Proration makes even a rich calculation pay out smaller. Benefits for the month you apply are prorated from the application date.
A mid-month approval delivers a fraction of the first month's figure, then settles into the full amount. The EBT payment schedule guide maps where the money arrives, state by state.
If the distance between your deposit and the table feels wrong, audit it in one sitting. List your deductions as the notice shows them, compare each against your actual bills, and reconcile the difference.
The miss is usually a utility allowance that was never triggered. It can also be a childcare cost nobody claimed, or a medical stack a senior household forgot at recertification.
Because the formula returns thirty cents per deduction dollar, a $300 monthly reporting gap is $90 of benefit every month. That loss repeats until someone catches it. The full deduction walkthrough, with the same arithmetic caseworkers use, is in our eligibility determination guide.
Using the Tables Without Misreading Them
Three habits keep the tables honest. Match the region column before the household size.
An Alaska village address uses the Rural 2 column, not the 48-state row. The difference is over $1,000 for a family of four.
Then date the table you are reading. Numbers published before August 21, 2026 describe FY2026 and expire on September 30. Anything still quoting the old eight-person maximum is badly outdated.
Remember the cap as well. Once a household reaches 18 members, no further addition raises the benefit. Older articles that simply multiplied $225 by household size now overstate large-family maximums.
The Food and Nutrition Administration's COLA information page hosts the current and prior fiscal year memoranda, including every territory table. It is the source every number above traces back to.
When you want the number that actually lands on your card, the SNAP benefits calculator runs the full formula for your state. It includes your deductions and takes about a minute. Households sizing up a new baby or a moved-in parent can see the per-size ladder in our household size guide.
SNAP Maximum Allotments FAQ
What is the maximum SNAP benefit for 2027?
In the 48 contiguous states and D.C., one person gets $306, two get $562, and three get $808. A family of four gets $1,023, and eight people get up to $1,841. Households of 9 to 17 add $225 per member, and 18 or more hits the $3,887 ceiling.
Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands use their own tables. Every one of those schedules is shown above.
Why is my benefit much lower than the maximum for my household size?
Your household has countable net income, and the formula subtracts 30% of it from the maximum. Income, not a mistake, is the usual reason.
The rest of the gap is often deductions you never claimed. Medical costs, dependent care, and utilities are the three most commonly missed.
Who gets the exact maximum?
Households with zero countable net income after deductions get the exact maximum. Typical cases involve small unearned income only, households relying entirely on excluded income, or deductions that wipe out net income entirely.
One- and two-person cases are treated differently. If the formula calculates to zero, they receive the $25 minimum benefit instead.
Do the maximums include the new 18-plus cap automatically?
Yes, the $3,887 ceiling is built into the FY2027 tables in the 48 states and D.C. Households of 9 to 17 people still grow by $225 per member, and the ladder stops at 18.
State agencies apply the cap automatically at calculation, so no action is required. Very large households should still re-check any estimates made before October 1, 2026.
Do these tables apply everywhere in the United States?
Almost, but not quite everywhere. The fifty states, D.C., Guam, and the Virgin Islands all run SNAP. The territories use their own tables, shown above.
Puerto Rico is the exception because it does not operate SNAP. It runs a Nutrition Assistance Program block grant with its own benefit structure instead. American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands use the same block-grant model.
Which row applies if my household is between sizes?
Always round up to the row that matches your actual count of eligible members. A five-person household uses the five-person row even if one member earns almost nothing.
A household of nine uses the ladder instead, which means the eight-person maximum plus $225. Counties price the household at certification, and the count re-prices whenever someone joins or leaves the case.
Which state has the highest SNAP maximum?
For a family of four, Rural 2 Alaska pays the most in the nation at $2,027. Hawaii follows at $1,655, then Guam at $1,507 and the Virgin Islands at $1,315. The 48 states plus D.C. sit at $1,023.
The highest one-person maximum is also Rural 2 Alaska at $608. That is nearly double the mainland figure.
Related SNAP Guides
- 2027 SNAP COLA: the deduction and income-screen changes riding along with these tables.
- How household size affects benefits: who counts as a member before you size the household.
- SNAP asset limits: what your household can own and still qualify.
- SNAP benefits calculator: turn the maximum into your actual number with real deductions.
