WIC income eligibility — the 185% rule and the 2026/27 guidelines
WIC's income rule is a single national standard: your household's gross income (before taxes and other deductions) must be at or below 185% of the federal poverty guidelines. State agencies may use their own state or local health-care guidelines instead, but they may never set a WIC limit above 185% of poverty, and never below 100%. In practice, almost every state uses the federal table below.
Current guidelines: 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027
These figures are for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. Alaska and Hawaii have higher limits because of the cost of living there — your agency will give you those figures if you live in either state.
| Household size | Per year | Per month | Per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $29,526 | $2,461 | $568 |
| 2 | $40,034 | $3,337 | $770 |
| 3 | $50,542 | $4,212 | $972 |
| 4 | $61,050 | $5,088 | $1,175 |
| 5 | $71,558 | $5,964 | $1,377 |
| 6 | $82,066 | $6,839 | $1,579 |
| 7 | $92,574 | $7,715 | $1,781 |
| 8 | $103,082 | $8,591 | $1,983 |
| Each additional member, add | $10,508 | $876 | $203 |
What counts as household income
WIC counts the gross income of the household — the people who live together and share food and living costs — including wages, self-employment income, Social Security, unemployment benefits, and child support received, among other sources. The agency, not this site, decides exactly what counts in your case, and it will ask about the income of everyone in the household unit. Bring proof (pay stubs, a benefits letter, or a tax return) to your appointment; if you cannot produce a document, tell the agency — it has procedures for that situation, and guessing or omitting income is far worse than asking.
Adjunctive eligibility: the shortcut most applicants miss
If you already receive SNAP, Medicaid, or TANF, you are adjunctively income-eligible for WIC. That means the income test is already satisfied: you do not have to prove your income again, and you do not have to fit under the table above even if your income has changed since you qualified for the other program. You still complete the WIC application, the residency and identity checks, and the nutritional-risk assessment. Bring proof that you receive the other program (a benefits letter or card) so the agency can record it. Families who receive Food Distribution on Indian Reservations benefits are likewise adjunctively eligible.
Stale figures to ignore
You will still find last year's table all over the internet: $28,953 a year ($2,413 a month) for a household of 1, $59,478 for a household of 4. Those were the guidelines for 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. They are no longer current and are not used as current anywhere on this site. If a source quotes them without a date, check the date before you trust it — and if in doubt, ask your agency, which uses the current table.
Next: what the money actually buys, on Food packages.