Our first Insights Insider of the year explores the use of SNAP benefits in Worcester County. In partnership with Greater Worcester Community Foundation and using data from Worcester County Insights, we analyzed SNAP usage, demographics, and the impacts new eligibility rules and funding cuts could have on the program.
SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a longstanding federal Department of Agriculture program providing funds to feed individuals in the United States living under certain household income thresholds. In Massachusetts, the state Department of Transitional Assistance is responsible for administering the SNAP program.
In Worcester County, about 15.8% of residents utilized SNAP each month in 2025, slightly higher than the statewide rate of 14.94%. In Massachusetts, as of November 2025, SNAP costs an estimated $240 million a month. (The Research Bureau has written about food insecurity and SNAP previously; see “Is Worcester County Food Insecure? It Depends on Where” originally published in November 2022 and updated in September 2023).
Throughout 2025, Massachusetts had an average 654,104 households each month receiving SNAP, or more than 1,000,000 residents. Worcester County averaged 81,823 households and 139,197 residents, or 12.51% and 13.06% of the statewide totals, respectively, the fourth highest among Massachusetts’ 14 counties. These numbers (and the numbers throughout this brief ) represent both active and closed cases – households that were, at some point in the month, utilizing SNAP.