Who Qualifies for Food Stamps in Washington State?

You qualify for food stamps in Washington State — the program is called Basic Food — if your household’s gross monthly income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, you live in Washington, and you meet the rules on citizenship or immigration status, household composition, and (for some adults) work. Washington uses broad-based categorical eligibility, which sets the income cutoff higher than the federal 130% standard and removes asset tests for most households.

Income Limits

For most applicants, there’s one income test: gross monthly income (what the household earns before taxes or deductions) at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. The limits in effect from April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2026 are:

1 person: $2,608
2 people: $3,525
3 people: $4,442
4 people: $5,358
5 people: $6,275
6 people: $7,192
7 people: $8,108
8 people: $9,025
Each additional person: add $917

If your household’s gross income sits at or under the figure for your size, you’ve cleared the income test.¹

If Someone in Your Household Is 60+ or Disabled

Households that include a member who is 60 or older, or who has a disability, aren’t shut out when gross income runs over 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. They can still qualify if net income — gross income minus allowed deductions — is at or below 100% of the Federal Poverty Level. That net limit is $1,305 per month for one person and $2,680 for a family of four.²

Deductions that pull gross income down to net include a standard deduction ($209 per month for households of one to three), 20% of earned income, out-of-pocket dependent care tied to work or school, medical costs above $35 per month for the elderly or disabled member, and shelter costs (rent or mortgage, property taxes, utilities) above half of income after the other deductions. Washington applies a Standard Utility Allowance rather than itemizing bills, which generally yields a larger shelter deduction.²

Who Counts as Your Household

Your household size — which decides which row of the income chart applies to you — is built from the people you live with and share meals with. The rule is “buy and prepare food together.” Live with roommates and cook separately? You can apply as your own household even at the same address.

Some groupings are mandatory no matter how you actually eat. Spouses living in the same home are always one household. Anyone aged 18 through 21 living with a parent is part of the parent’s household unless they have completely separate living and cooking facilities.³

Residency

You must live in Washington. There’s no minimum length of residency — if you’re here when you apply, for any reason, you meet the requirement. You can’t receive food benefits from another state or tribal program for the same month you receive Basic Food in Washington.

Assets

For most households, resources don’t factor in. Categorical eligibility eliminates the asset test, so bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and retirement savings generally don’t count against you, and your home is never counted.¹ Vehicle value can come into play for the narrow set of households that don’t qualify through the categorical path, in which case only the portion of a vehicle’s fair market value above $4,650 counts.

Citizenship and Immigration Status

U.S. citizens who meet the other requirements are eligible. For non-citizens, federal law changed substantially in mid-2025, and the eligible categories are now narrower than before.

Under current federal rules, the only non-citizen categories eligible for SNAP are lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and citizens of Compact of Free Association nations (the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau). Refugees and asylees are no longer eligible for federal SNAP based on those statuses alone, though a refugee or asylee who has adjusted to lawful permanent resident status becomes eligible immediately, without the usual five-year wait. Lawful permanent residents are generally subject to a five-year waiting period, with some exceptions. COFA citizens have no waiting period.⁴

Washington’s Food Assistance Program for Immigrants

If federal rules shut you out but you meet every other Basic Food requirement, Washington runs a state-funded Food Assistance Program (FAP) that covers legal immigrants. Refugees, asylees, and lawful permanent residents still inside the five-year waiting period can receive state-funded benefits with the same dollar amounts and the same eligible items as Basic Food. A single household can also receive a mix of federal SNAP and state FAP if some members qualify federally and others don’t.⁵

Work Requirements for Adults Without Dependents

Able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) between the ages of 18 and 54 face a stricter rule. If you fall into this group, you can receive Basic Food for only three months out of every 36-month period unless you’re working, volunteering, or participating in a qualifying employment and training program for at least 80 hours per month.⁶

You’re exempt if you’re physically or mentally unable to work, caring for a dependent child, or already meeting the hours threshold through regular employment. The three months don’t need to run consecutively; DSHS tracks total months in the 36-month window during which you received benefits without meeting the work requirement.

College Students

If you’re enrolled at least half-time in a college, university, or trade school, you’re generally ineligible unless you meet one of the student exemptions. The common ones:

Working at least 20 hours per week in paid employment
Participating in a federal or state work-study program
Being a single parent enrolled full-time and caring for a child under 12
Caring for a child under 6
Receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Being under 18 or age 50 or older
Being placed in college through a SNAP Employment and Training program or a program under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

An exemption only clears the student bar. You still have to meet the income, residency, and other requirements that apply to everyone else.⁷

1
Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. Categorical Eligibility for Basic Food
2
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility
3
Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. Assistance Units – Basic Food
4
Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). SNAP Provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill – Alien SNAP Eligibility
5
Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. State Food Assistance Program (FAP)
6
Cornell Law Institute. WAC 388-444-0030 – Are Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents Subject to Additional Work Requirements
7
Food and Nutrition Service. Students