Different places use different measures of food insecurity to meet their objectives. To us, “Low” food security in a household is enough to cause concern. Those households struggle to find enough money for food and make dietary adjustments, including buying less food or different, cheaper kinds of food that can have nutritional consequences, especially for children. They typically also rely on food assistance or meal programs just to maintain that troublesome Low status. So, we’ve ranked states from top to bottom based on the percentage of Low security households.
“Very Low” is a household regularly skipping meals and eating less per meal strictly for financial reasons. With a few notable exceptions, most states with the highest percentages of Low food security households also have higher percentages of Very Low food security households. The order isn’t too far off in most cases no matter what you’re looking to find.
Keep in mind, these are households. They represent more than 2.5 times the numbers shown as individual people.
| State | Insecure | Low | Very Low |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 1,174,000 | 15.3% | 5.5% |
| Arkansas | 1,289,000 | 15% | 6.3% |
| Louisiana | 1,880,000 | 14.5% | 5.7% |
| Wisconsin | 740,000 | 14% | 5.2% |
| Oklahoma | 1,591,000 | 13.8% | 4.4% |
| Texas | 10,766,000 | 13.7% | 5% |
| Alabama | 2,039,000 | 13.1% | 4.6% |
| South Carolina | 2,180,000 | 12.6% | 5.9% |
| Kentucky | 1,867,000 | 12.3% | 4.4% |
| Mississippi | 2,503,000 | 12% | 5.6% |
| New York | 865,000 | 11.5% | 4.5% |
| Michigan | 4,142,000 | 11.4% | 4.6% |
| Tennessee | 2,826,000 | 11.2% | 4.5% |
| Utah | 1,139,000 | 11.2% | 3.9% |
| Delaware | 387,000 | 11.2% | 4.1% |
| Wyoming | 233,000 | 11.2% | 4.7% |
| Nebraska | 4,450,000 | 10.9% | 3.6% |
| Ohio | 4,816,000 | 10.8% | 4.6% |
| New Hampshire | 792,000 | 10.6% | 4.6% |
| Colorado | 2,345,000 | 10.5% | 3.8% |
| Montana | 474,000 | 10.4% | 4.7% |
| North Dakota | 7,774,000 | 10.3% | 3.5% |
| Oregon | 1,761,000 | 10.3% | 3.9% |
| North Carolina | 1,220,000 | 10.2% | 4.2% |
| Kansas | 1,157,000 | 10.2% | 4.2% |
| Arizona | 2,929,000 | 10.1% | 3.1% |
| Florida | 9,274,000 | 9.9% | 3.8% |
| Georgia | 4,179,000 | 9.9% | 3.9% |
| West Virginia | 2,483,000 | 9.9% | 3.1% |
| Illinois | 695,000 | 9.8% | 3.9% |
| Iowa | 2,757,000 | 9.7% | 4.5% |
| California | 14,165,000 | 9.6% | 3.5% |
| Connecticut | 1,441,000 | 9.6% | 4.2% |
| Massachusetts | 571,000 | 9.5% | 4.5% |
| Alaska | 269,000 | 9.5% | 4% |
| Indiana | 5,015,000 | 9.4% | 4% |
| Pennsylvania | 5,063,000 | 9.2% | 3.8% |
| Hawaii | 487,000 | 9.1% | 3.1% |
| District of Columbia | 342,000 | 9% | 2.8% |
| Maryland | 2,301,000 | 8.7% | 2.9% |
| South Dakota | 367,000 | 8.7% | 3.7% |
| Maine | 2,812,000 | 8.4% | 3.2% |
| Rhode Island | 430,000 | 8.4% | 2.6% |
| New Mexico | 3,426,000 | 8.3% | 2.7% |
| Washington | 3,096,000 | 7.9% | 3% |
| Virginia | 279,000 | 7.9% | 2.8% |
| Vermont | 3,412,000 | 7.8% | 3.1% |
| Nevada | 331,000 | 7.7% | 1.8% |
| Minnesota | 2,303,000 | 7.4% | 2.8% |
| Idaho | 1,316,000 | 7% | 2.3% |
| New Jersey | 554,000 | 5.4% | 2% |
These are the averages for 2019 to 2021, the last years survey data is available. But if you think things are better today, we can tell you most food banks in 2023 report high increases in demand and volume approaching or at pandemic levels. We believe these numbers are still a fair indicator of what’s happening right now. Want to make a difference? Consider joining us today.
Source data courtesy of the
US Department Of Agriculture
Economic Research Service
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