Arizona’s SNAP Decline Is Colliding with a Growing Eviction Crisis 

Arizona households are facing severe affordability crises as many have lost access to a critical safety net. Recent national stories have highlighted the fragility of the U.S. economy and labor market as households face high prices across basic necessities such as food, housing, and utilities.  

Maricopa County continues to see a high rate of eviction filings with nearly 84,000 evictions in the past 12 months and over 20,000 since the beginning of 2026. Eviction filings appear to be most intensive at the outer edges of the Phoenix metropolitan area, including the southwest and northwest valley.  

Housing cost burdens among renters remain significant in the area of Phoenix-Chandler-Mesa based on an analysis of the most recent American Community Survey: 51.8% of renter households are cost burden (30% or more of income on housing) and 25.9% are severely cost burdened (more than 50% on housing). 

At the same time, the percent of debt entering 30+ days and 90+ days delinquency in Arizona has continued to climb in the past two years.  

And recent increases in the costs of utilities such as electricity and water place an additional burden on Arizona households. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the cost of residential energy in Arizona has increased from 15 cents per kilowatt hour to 16 cents per kilowatt hour, a 5.5% increase, from February 2025 to February 2026.  

At the same time, Arizona has experienced the steepest decline in SNAP participation in the nation, with hundreds of thousands of residents losing access to food assistance in recent months. Since mid-2025, the state has issued approximately $346 million less in SNAP benefits — resources that previously helped families not only afford groceries, but stay current on rent, utilities, and other basic needs.  

This loss of support is not happening in isolation; it is compounding existing financial pressures and leaving households with fewer options to absorb rising costs. As a result, more families are being pushed closer to the edge, increasing the likelihood of missed payments, housing instability, and ultimately eviction. 

SNAP is critical to stabilize struggling households 

Evictions are not just a symptom of financial hardship — they are drivers of deeper and longer-term economic instability.  

Prior research has shown that evictions have a causal effect on a household’s economic well-being, leading to a reduction in earnings, increased risk of homelessness, and increased hospital visits. These evictions result in adverse economic and fiscal effects, as lower earnings reduce consumer spending, and lower tax revenues. Consequently, evictions result in multiple and often compounding negative outcomes.  

Additionally, research further indicates that access to economic well-being programs, like SNAP, is correlated with reduced rent burdens for families alleviating the pressure on household budgets. The rationale is that a SNAP household often uses benefits to not only purchase food but also to free up household resources for other expenses such as housing, utilities, and child care. 

Households reliant on SNAP are often severely income- and credit-constrained such that a sudden loss of benefits would likely negatively impact their ability to pay other bills, increasing the risk of eviction and credit delinquencies, which may then adversely impact job opportunities and employment — creating a cycle that is difficult to reverse. 

Policy Decisions Will Shape What Happens Next 

The interrelationship between SNAP and housing is another example of how it is in Arizona’s economic benefit for Congress to reverse many of the SNAP cuts that were included in H.R. 1.  

Cuts primarily provided tax benefits that skewed toward the wealthy and corporations. Reversing them will help ensure Arizona families have the purchasing power to put food on the table during what has become a complicated and difficult economic environment, as was the Congressional intent of SNAP.     

Congress also has the power to delay a looming cost shift in SNAP that could place significant new financial pressure on Arizona and put food assistance even more at risk for families across the state. The Farm Bill is the most immediate opportunity for Congress to extend the current two-year delay to all states — ensuring Arizona and others have the same time to improve administrative accuracy while protecting access to food assistance. 

At a moment when affordability challenges are intensifying, SNAP remains one of the most effective tools available to help families stay housed, stay healthy, and stay economically secure. 

Failing to protect it will only deepen the challenges Arizona is already facing.