In January 2025, USDA's official Thrifty Food Plan put the monthly grocery cost for a reference family of four (an adult male and female ages 20 to 50, plus two children ages 6 to 8 and 9 to 11) at $992.90, or $229.20 a week. Individual costs ranged from $111.20 a month for a 1 year old to $315.50 a month for a teenage boy ages 14 to 19. This reference family figure is the number Congress wrote into law to set SNAP's maximum monthly benefit, which is then scaled up or down for different household sizes. Food prices have risen since then: USDA's most recently published report, for August 2026, puts the same reference family at $1,023.70 a month.
What Is the Thrifty Food Plan
The Thrifty Food Plan is USDA's lowest-cost model diet, one of four official USDA food plans (the others are Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal). It estimates what it costs to buy groceries for a nutritionally adequate diet, with every meal and snack prepared at home, no restaurant or takeout spending included. The current version, the Thrifty Food Plan, 2021, is built on 2013-16 consumption patterns and 2015-16 price data, then updated every month using the Consumer Price Index for specific food categories like eggs, dark-green vegetables, and dairy.
The Thrifty Food Plan matters beyond nutrition research because the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 names it as the basis for SNAP's maximum monthly allotment. USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (renamed the Food and Nutrition Administration) publishes an updated cost table almost every month, broken out by age and gender so researchers, nutrition educators, and household budgeters can estimate grocery costs for any family composition.
USDA Thrifty Food Plan Cost by Age and Gender, 2025
This is the official USDA Thrifty Food Plan table for January 2025 (issued February 2025), the most commonly cited 2025 figures for this plan. Monthly costs are the weekly cost multiplied by 4.333.
| Age-Sex Group | Weekly Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|
| Child, 1 year | $25.70 | $111.20 |
| Child, 2-3 years | $38.60 | $167.40 |
| Child, 4-5 years | $42.10 | $182.50 |
| Child, 6-8 years | $46.70 | $202.50 |
| Child, 9-11 years | $54.00 | $234.20 |
| Female, 12-13 years | $50.00 | $216.70 |
| Female, 14-19 years | $57.90 | $250.90 |
| Female, 20-50 years | $57.00 | $247.00 |
| Female, 51-70 years | $53.20 | $230.40 |
| Female, 71+ years | $58.40 | $252.90 |
| Male, 12-13 years | $57.80 | $250.30 |
| Male, 14-19 years | $72.80 | $315.50 |
| Male, 20-50 years | $71.40 | $309.20 |
| Male, 51-70 years | $63.30 | $274.20 |
| Male, 71+ years | $60.40 | $261.70 |
| Reference family of 4 (male and female 20-50, children 6-8 and 9-11) | $229.20 | $992.90 |
Two patterns stand out. First, teenage boys cost the most to feed under this model, more than any other age-sex group, including working-age men. Second, costs do not fall in a straight line by age. Young children cost less per month than school-age children, and costs for adults 71 and older are higher than for adults 51 to 70, reflecting different nutrient needs built into the model.
How Household Size Changes the Cost
These dollar figures are calculated for a person living in a 4-person household. USDA publishes adjustment percentages for other household sizes, because food bought and cooked in bulk costs less per person:
| Household Size | Adjustment |
|---|
| 1 person | Add 20% |
| 2 people | Add 10% |
| 3 people | Add 5% |
| 4 people | No adjustment |
| 5 or 6 people | Subtract 5% |
| 7 or more people | Subtract 10% |
To estimate total food cost for a household, add up the individual monthly costs for everyone in the home from the age-sex table, then apply the percentage adjustment for the total household size. For example, a single adult woman age 35 living alone would take her $247.00 individual cost and add 20%, for about $296.40 a month, not $247.00, because she does not benefit from the shared shopping and cooking efficiency a larger household gets.
How the Thrifty Food Plan Sets SNAP Benefits
The Thrifty Food Plan is not just a research estimate. Every June, USDA recalculates the Thrifty Food Plan's reference family cost, and that June figure becomes the basis for SNAP's maximum monthly allotment for the following federal fiscal year, which runs October 1 through September 30. The reference family of four's monthly cost becomes the maximum SNAP benefit for a 4-person household with no net income, and USDA then scales that figure up and down for other household sizes using a separate table, not the same percentages used for the general cost-of-food adjustments above.
This is why the Thrifty Food Plan cost by age and gender and the SNAP maximum allotment table are related but not identical numbers. The reference family's August 2026 Thrifty Food Plan cost was $1,023.70 a month; the federal fiscal year 2027 SNAP maximum allotment for a 4-person household, which took effect October 1, 2026, is $1,023 a month. They land within a dollar of each other because both trace back to the same underlying model, just measured in slightly different months of the update cycle.
Thrifty Food Plan Cost in 2026: What Changed
Comparing January 2025 to the most recently published report, August 2026, shows how much grocery costs under this model have moved in a little over a year and a half.
| Group | January 2025 | August 2026 | Change |
|---|
| Reference family of 4 (monthly) | $992.90 | $1,023.70 | +$30.80 |
| Female, 20-50 years | $247.00 | $253.70 | +$6.70 |
| Male, 20-50 years | $309.20 | $318.90 | +$9.70 |
| Child, 6-8 years | $202.50 | $209.20 | +$6.70 |
| Child, 9-11 years | $234.20 | $241.90 | +$7.70 |
The increase reflects ordinary food-price inflation tracked through the Consumer Price Index, not a change to the Thrifty Food Plan's underlying market basket, which was last redesigned in 2021.
Current SNAP Maximum Monthly Allotments
Since October 1, 2026, SNAP's maximum monthly allotments for the 48 contiguous states and DC, for federal fiscal year 2027, are:
| Household Size | Maximum Monthly Allotment |
|---|
| 1 | $306 |
| 2 | $562 |
| 3 | $808 |
| 4 | $1,023 |
| 5 | $1,217 |
| 6 | $1,463 |
| 7 | $1,616 |
| 8 | $1,841 |
| Each additional person | +$225 |
Households of 1 or 2 people get at least a $25 minimum benefit if they qualify for any SNAP at all. Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands have their own, higher allotment tables, since food costs more to transport in those areas. Few SNAP households actually receive the full maximum allotment. The amount a household gets depends on its net income: SNAP expects a household to spend about 30% of its net income on food, and the benefit makes up the difference between that expectation and the maximum allotment for its household size.
Why This Number Is Not Your SNAP Benefit
A common misunderstanding is treating the Thrifty Food Plan cost, or the SNAP maximum allotment, as what every household receives. Neither is true for most applicants. SNAP benefits are calculated from net income after allowed deductions (earned income, standard, dependent care, medical expenses for elderly or disabled members, and shelter costs above a cap), not from a flat per-person grocery estimate. A household with some income typically receives less than the maximum allotment for its size. Only a household with zero net income receives the full maximum shown in the table above.
Since July 4, 2025, SNAP also applies a stricter work rule: adults 18 to 64 with no child under 14 in the household generally can get SNAP for only 3 months in 3 years unless they work or train at least 20 hours a week, receive unemployment benefits, or qualify for another exemption. Pregnant women remain exempt. SNAP eligibility is also limited to citizens and nationals, green card holders, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau; many green card holders must wait 5 years after getting that status before they qualify, with exceptions for children, people with 40 qualifying work quarters, and some other groups.
How to Apply for SNAP
- Check your state's SNAP agency website. Each state runs its own SNAP application, though the federal rules above apply everywhere.
- Gather documents showing identity, residency, income (pay stubs, award letters), and household expenses (rent or mortgage, utility bills).
- Submit the application online, by mail, by fax, or in person, depending on what your state offers.
- Complete the interview, usually by phone, within the timeframe your state notifies you about.
- Get a decision within 30 days of submitting a complete application, or within 7 days if you qualify for expedited service due to very low income or resources.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did the Thrifty Food Plan cost in 2025?
In January 2025, USDA's Thrifty Food Plan put the monthly grocery cost at $247.00 for a woman 20 to 50, $309.20 for a man 20 to 50, and $992.90 a month for a reference family of four (two adults 20 to 50 and two children ages 6-8 and 9-11). Costs are updated monthly for food-price inflation, so later 2025 and 2026 figures are somewhat higher.
What is the difference between the Thrifty Food Plan and the SNAP maximum allotment?
The Thrifty Food Plan is USDA's underlying cost model, published monthly by age and gender. The SNAP maximum allotment is a separate, legally defined table that uses the Thrifty Food Plan's reference family cost from each June as its starting point for the next federal fiscal year, then applies its own scaling for different household sizes. The two numbers for a 4-person household are close but not always identical, since they are measured in different months.
Why did the Thrifty Food Plan cost go up between 2025 and 2026?
USDA updates the Thrifty Food Plan's dollar figures every month using the Consumer Price Index for specific food categories, so the cost tracks ordinary grocery inflation. The reference family's monthly cost rose from $992.90 in January 2025 to $1,023.70 in August 2026, an increase of about 3%. The underlying list of foods in the plan has not changed; only prices have.
Does the Thrifty Food Plan cost the same in every state?
The published national table is a US average. Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands have separate, higher cost tables and correspondingly higher SNAP maximum allotments, because groceries cost more to ship to those areas. The 48 contiguous states and DC share the same national table and the same maximum allotment amounts.
Does my household actually get the full maximum allotment amount?
Only if your household has zero net income after SNAP's deductions. SNAP expects most households to contribute about 30% of their net income toward food, so the benefit is usually the maximum allotment for your household size minus that expected contribution, not the full maximum shown in USDA's table.
How is the Thrifty Food Plan used outside of SNAP?
Besides setting SNAP's maximum allotment, the Thrifty Food Plan is widely used as a reference point for grocery budgeting, cost-of-living research, and nutrition education, since it represents a realistic lower bound for feeding a household a nutritionally adequate diet with meals prepared at home.
