SNAP participation has been falling across much of the country in 2026, according to the latest federal data. But Florida and Virginia stood out in June, posting month-to-month enrollment gains even as most states moved in the opposite direction. The shift comes as advocates and policy groups continue tracking the effect of new federal SNAP rules and state implementation changes.
Florida and Virginia posted some of June’s largest SNAP gains
The latest USDA SNAP data show about 36.35 million people received benefits nationwide in June 2026, down from roughly 36.69 million in May, a decline of about 332,000 in a single month. Reporting based on those federal figures found 34 states recorded fewer participants in June than in May, while Florida added 68,036 participants and Virginia added 45,776, two of the largest increases in the country. USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration lists June 2026 as the most recent month available for state-level participation data.
Those month-to-month gains came against a broader backdrop of contraction. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said SNAP participation is down by roughly 5 million people nationally since the July 2025 reconciliation law took effect, based on USDA data through May 2026 and more recent state figures where available. CBPP said the national caseload has fallen below the pre-pandemic level and reached its lowest point in 17 years.
The June increases in Florida and Virginia do not erase the larger downward trend seen over the past year. Separate tracking by the Food Research & Action Center said Florida had lost 558,478 participants, or about 20 percent of its caseload, between July 2025 and May 2026. That means the June rebound, while significant, followed an extended period of declines rather than a full recovery.
In Florida, the June increase lifted SNAP participation from about 2.29 million to 2.36 million people, based on reporting drawn from the USDA release. In Virginia, the June gain pushed enrollment up by 45,776 participants from the prior month. Those figures put both states in contrast with the majority of the country, where participation continued to slide.
What is not yet clear from the federal release is how much of each state’s June increase reflects newly eligible households, backlogged case processing, recertifications, or other administrative factors. USDA’s public monthly tables identify statewide participation totals, but they do not provide a full explanation for abrupt month-to-month swings in Florida or Virginia. A comprehensive public breakdown by county tied specifically to the June increase was not immediately available in the latest federal summary.
The longer-term picture remains uneven in both states. CBPP noted USDA participation data can sometimes reflect anomalies, revisions, or the effects of disaster assistance, and it said recent state trends should be read with caution when interpreting sudden changes. That matters in Florida and Virginia because both states also received disaster SNAP support in the wake of 2024 hurricanes, adding another factor analysts say can complicate comparisons over time.
Advocacy and policy organizations tracing the 2026 drop say federal law changes are a major driver. CBPP attributes much of the national decline to the reconciliation law enacted on July 4, 2025, which expanded SNAP work requirements to older adults up to age 65 and to some parents and caregivers of children 14 and older, while also narrowing states’ ability to secure waivers. The group said research shows those requirements often reduce benefits without increasing employment or earnings.
FRAC likewise said the steep decline accelerated after the 2025 law took effect and described the post-July 2025 drop as a direct result of that legislation. The organization’s tracker said about 6.3 million fewer people were receiving SNAP in May 2026 than when January 2025 began, with state-by-state losses varying sharply. Its data show that even states with month-to-month increases can still be down substantially over a longer period.
For Florida and Virginia residents, the immediate takeaway is that June brought a documented rise in enrollment while the national direction remained negative. The federal data do not yet show whether those increases will continue into late summer or whether they reflect temporary processing changes. USDA’s state participation tables are updated monthly, and those releases will provide the next verified measure of whether Florida and Virginia are diverging from the broader national pattern.