November SNAP payments updated: Here are the new minimum, maximum benefits

Editor's note: This story was updated on Nov. 6, 2025, after the USDA revised the maximum allotments for SNAP benefits.

(NEXSTAR) – The plan for November SNAP benefits has changed again. The 42 million Americans who rely on food assistance to afford groceries are being told to expect slightly larger payments than the amounts announced earlier this week.

The Trump administration announced this week that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, would be partially funded in November following two judges’ orders to use an emergency fund to keep aid flowing. (Benefits could still take weeks or even months to reach people, officials warn.)

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, was warning people to expect about 50% of their usual monthly benefits. However, revised guidance posted late Wednesday said maximum allotments would be closer to 65% of normal.

The emergency fund the government is tapping into isn't big enough to cover 100% of benefits, the agency said.

For November, the changes to maximum benefits for people in the 48 contiguous U.S. states and Washington, D.C., are:

Household size	Maximum benefit in a normal month	Maximum benefit in November 2025
1	$298	$193
2	$546	$355
3	$785	$510
4	$994	$646
5	$1,183	$769
6	$1,421	$924
7	$1,571	$1,021
8	$1,789	$1,163
Each additional person	$218	$142

Maximum payments are higher in Hawaii, Alaska, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands because food costs there are typically higher. SNAP beneficiaries in these states and territories can still expect 65% of the usual allotment.

The minimum payment in November will be $16 for a household of one or two people in the 48 contiguous states and D.C. The minimum is $26 in Hawaii and between $20 and $31 in Alaska.

Benefit reduction math means most households will see bigger cuts than 35%

Not every SNAP beneficiary will receive the maximum amount shown in the table above. Each household's allotment depends on income, assets, the number of dependents and other factors.

While SNAP reductions like this November's have never come into play, there is a decades-old federal regulation for how they should be carried out.

Under the formula, benefits are reduced by 35% for households receiving the maximum amount. And households of the same size would have benefits reduced by the same dollar amount. For a family of three, the benefit would be reduced by $275. For a person living alone, it would drop by $105, according to an analysis by Ben Molin, who runs SNAP Screener, a website about benefits.

That means that the lowest-income families would be impacted the least. An analysis by the progressive Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that in the 12 months that ended in September 2024, just over one-third of beneficiaries received the maximum amount.

When will November SNAP payments be issued?

Nearly a week into November, SNAP benefits are already delayed for millions of people. The benefit cards could be loaded as soon as Friday in Louisiana but will take longer in most states.

Once the funds are freed up, it takes time to reload EBT (electronic benefit transfer) cards, the debit cards beneficiaries use to buy groceries. The reloading process takes up to two weeks in some states.

The USDA also warned in a court filing that it could take weeks or even months for states to make all the system changes needed to send out reduced benefits.

The picture is further complicated by the states' patchwork response to the lack of funding. While SNAP is federally funded, it's administered at the state and local level, and every state is doing things a little differently as the government shutdown drags on.

While some states, like New Mexico and Virginia, have tapped into their own emergency funds to reload EBT cards, others are waiting for the federal government to act. Many states are boosting donations to food banks, but aren't yet giving people direct payments.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.