USDA reports Hawaiʻi’s SNAP error rate at 10.92%, slightly above national average for states

Hawaiʻi recorded a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payment error rate of 10.92% in fiscal year 2025, exceeding both the congressional threshold and the national average, according to data released Wednesday by the US Department of Agriculture.

The Hawaiʻi figure includes 9.94% in overpayments and 0.98% in underpayments, the USDA reported. The state’s rate places it above the national rate of 10.62%, which itself far exceeds the congressional threshold of 6% set for the program.

The annual payment error rate measures how accurately states determine SNAP eligibility and benefit amounts. Nationwide, the error rate represents about $10.1 billion in improper payments, combining both overpayments and underpayments, according to the USDA.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the figures point to inadequate state oversight of the program. “These payment error rates are further proof that state accountability is severely lacking in SNAP,” Rollins said, adding that the agency has taken steps to help states reduce waste in the program.

The release comes amid new federal rules tied to a federal law that creates financial penalties for states whose error rates meet or exceed the 6% threshold. Under the law, affected states will be required to cover 5%, 10% or 15% of their SNAP benefit costs, with the percentage rising along with a state’s error rate. Most of those cost-sharing requirements are set to take effect Oct. 1, 2027, and fiscal year 2025 is the first year of data that could be used to calculate the share owed by each state.

States above the threshold, including Hawaiʻi, are also required to submit a corrective action plan to USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service outlining how they intend to address the causes of their errors. Some states could face additional financial penalties through the agency’s quality control process.

It was not immediately clear how the new cost-sharing requirements might affect Hawaiʻi’s Department of Human Services, which administers SNAP benefits in the state, or whether the department plans to file a corrective action plan in response to the FY 2025 figures.

Additional information on the USDA’s quality control review process is available on the agency’s website.