One Southern State Cut Its Food Stamp Rolls by Nearly 15% in a Year, Losing 83,044 Recipients

South Carolina is the state. Its SNAP rolls fell from 564,900 people in July 2025 to 481,856 in July 2026, a loss of 83,044 recipients, or 14.7%, according to the USDA’s state-by-state participation table.

The July 2026 figure is the USDA’s initial count and can still be revised, though every comparison in the table points down.

564,900 to 481,856, With 1.6% Lost in a Single Month

The figures come from the USDA’s “Number of Persons Participating” table, posted with the Food and Nutrition Service data tables and dated Oct. 9, 2026. It lists South Carolina at 489,699 in June 2026, so the drop from June to July was 1.6%, or 7,843 people.

The table gives only three data points, July 2025, June 2026 and July 2026, so it shows how large the drop is but not the month-by-month path between them. South Carolina’s loss is steep, though not the steepest. The Tonic Edit has reported that Nevada lost nearly 1 in 4 food stamp recipients over the same stretch.

The USDA warns that June and July 2026 numbers are subject to significant revision. The July-to-July gap of 83,044 could change when final counts arrive.

The state’s own December count gives a second marker. The South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS) said in a Feb. 2 news release that more than 520,000 South Carolinians received SNAP in December 2025, with about 48% of recipients under 18 and nearly 25% over 50.

Work Rules Reached South Carolina on Feb. 2

The same release announced that new federal work requirements, passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed July 4, 2025, were in effect. Able-bodied adults without dependents, ages 18 to 64, must work or join a work program for 80 hours a month, about 20 hours a week, or lose eligibility after three months in a 36-month period. The upper age limit rose from 54 to 64.

The rules also changed who is exempt. South Carolina Public Radio reported that adults caring for children under 14 remain exempt, while those caring for children 14 to 17 are now subject to the time limit unless another exemption applies. Exemptions for veterans, homeless people and young adults who aged out of foster care were eliminated.

Waivers are narrow. DSS said only areas with an unemployment rate above 10% qualify to suspend the requirements. The release points readers to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service website for details on eligibility, exemptions and work programs, and it lists the agency’s Office of Communications and External Affairs as the media contact.

The 15,600 People Counted First

When the rules took effect, DSS said about 3% of SNAP recipients were subject to them. WIS News 10 put that at roughly 15,600 people. DSS said it expected the share to grow significantly, with the exact effect depending on future USDA guidance and federal regulations.

That number matters for reading the table. The initial group covered by the work rules, about 15,600 people, is far smaller than the 83,044 who left the rolls over the year. The sources reviewed here do not break the decline down by cause, and DSS has not attributed the full drop to any one change.

A Cost Shift Priced at $23 Million and Up to $210 Million

The caseload drop arrives alongside a larger bill for the state. In December 2025, WIS News 10 reported that Connelly-Anne Ragley, DSS chief external officer, said South Carolina’s SNAP payment error rate was 9.25% in the last fiscal year, and that DSS believes it is lower now.

Few states clear the bar. The same report said only eight states kept their error rate below 6% in the last fiscal year, the line that decides whether a state owes anything toward benefits.

The error rate decides how much of the benefits the state pays, beginning in October 2027. DSS estimated that an error rate of 6% to 7.99% would cost the state 5% of benefit costs, about $70 million. A rate of 8% to 9.99% would mean 10%, about $140 million, and 10% or higher would mean 15%, about $210 million. SNAP benefits in South Carolina total about $1.4 billion a year.

The state’s share of operating costs also rises from 50% to 75%, about $23 million a year, according to the same report. DSS asked for about $34 million in the next state budget, roughly half of it to cover the higher operating share. The rest would fund 31 new positions, technology improvements and a third-party vendor to verify applicants’ wage information.

Applying Through DSS Online or at a County Office

South Carolina residents who think they may qualify can apply through DSS’s SNAP page, which links to an online application. The agency also runs SNAP through county offices, where eligibility caseworkers interview applicants. The page says approved households generally begin receiving benefits within 30 days, and some cases qualify for expedited benefits within seven days.

According to the page, working people who need help stretching a food budget may qualify, as may seniors, people experiencing homelessness and people who receive Social Security, child support or unemployment benefits. Whether a particular household qualifies is decided by DSS after an application, and the page does not list income limits.

The page repeats the work-rule changes and says the actual impact depends on how the federal regulations are written. For earlier coverage of the state’s separate Nov. 1 change to what SNAP cards can buy, see this report on candy, soda and energy drinks.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: Thomas Kirchel – CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons