Alaska again has the nation’s highest payment error rates for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, at 23.15% compared to the national average of 10.62% last year, according to a federal report released last week.
The state has experienced major backlogs and other issues with public assistance programs in recent years, with officials citing a combination of funding-related staff cuts, policy changes, outdated technology and other disruptions such as federal government shutdowns.
Because Alaska’s error rate is abnormally high, it won’t face the financial penalties that many other states with error rates above a congressionally set threshold of 6% are set to be hit with.
State-by-state error rates for the food stamps program, referring to the percentage of SNAP benefits paid either above or below what people should have received, were released June 24 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The nationwide rate for 2025 was down slightly from more than 11% in 2024, but still well in excess of the 6% benchmark set in federal law.
States with error rates at or above the 6% threshold will be responsible for covering 5%, 10% or 15% of their states’ benefits, with higher penalties for higher error rates, according to the statement. Those payments are set to begin on Oct.1, 2027.
But an exception in the budget law gives six states with the highest error rates — including Alaska — at least one additional year — to Oct. 1, 2028 — to reduce them without incurring penalties.
The federal government provides funding to pay the benefits; the states and federal government share the cost of administering the program.
Data shows Alaska’s 23.15% error rate includes an overpayment rate of 20.58% and underpayment rate of 2.57%. The second-highest error rate was the District of Columbia at 18.66%, including a 15.33% overpayment rate and 3.33% underpayment rate. Nationally the overpayment rate was 9.28% and underpayment rate was 1.33%.
Questions from the Juneau Independent submitted on June 24 to the Alaska Department of Health did not receive a response as of June 26.
Alaska was one of only two states with an increase in SNAP participants in 2025, according to a recently released study. More than 65,000 Alaskans were receiving food assistance through SNAP as of last September, according to the state health department.
