The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released (June 24, 2026) its annual measurement of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program– or SNAP– payment error rates and South Dakota leads the nation doing things correctly.
The rankings measure how accurately states determine who is eligible for SNAP and how much eligible recipients should receive.
In fiscal year 2025, South Dakota’s error rate was 2.47%, compared to the national payment error rate of 10.62%. South Dakota’s overpayment rate was 2.05% and the underpayment rate was 0.42%.
Rounding out the top 10 most accurate states are: Idaho at 3.85%; Wyoming with 3.96%; Kentucky at 4.7%; Iowa with 5.34%; Virgin Islands at 5.36%; Vermont with 5.38%; Utah at 5.54%; and Nevada at 5.9%.
The USDA report shows the least accurate state is Alaska with a 23.15% error rate. They’re followed by: the District of Columbia with 18.66%; New Mexico at 16.81%; Delaware with 16%; and Georgia at 15.21%.
According to USDA when including both overpayments and underpayments, the national error rate of 10.62% represents a total of $10.1 billion in improper payments across the country.
The federal One Big Beautiful Bill (H.R. 1)— signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 3, 2025– implemented financial consequences for states with SNAP error rates at or above the designated threshold of 6%. Those states are responsible for paying 5%, 10% or 15% of their states’ benefits. The higher their error rate, the higher the percentage. In most cases, states over the 6% error rate will have to begin paying for part of the SNAP program as soon as October 1, 2027. (The FY 2025 PER is the first year that could be used to calculate those percentages.)
Additionally, states with an error rate at or above 6% are required to submit a Corrective Action Plan to USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration detailing how they will address the root cause of their errors. Some of these states may also be liable for a separate financial penalty as part of the SNAP quality control process.
Visit the SNAP quality control webpage for more information.
Courtesy image.
Courtesy image.
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