{"main_topic":"health","sub_topic":"usda","topic":"food_access","key":"health/usda/food_access","version":"1.0.0","year_min":2025,"year_max":2025,"year_gaps":[],"update_frequency":"irregular","detail_levels":["counties","states","tracts"],"default_detail":"counties","path_template":"health/food_access/year={year}/{detail}.parquet","grain":["year","county_fips","tract_geoid","distance_method","distance_threshold"],"title":"Low Access to SNAP-Authorized Stores (USDA 2025 Map)","summary":"Share of residents living far from any SNAP-authorized store, by tract and county: USDA's June 2025 store list, 2020 Census people.","description":"How many Georgians live far from any store authorized to accept SNAP benefits, for Georgia, its 159 counties and its 2020 census tracts, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service's 2025 SNAP-authorized Retailer Access Map (SRAM, part of the Food Access Research Atlas): the residents (2020 Census) living more than a set distance from the nearest SNAP-authorized store as of June 2025, measured in a straight line and along roads, and their share of the population. SNAP-authorized stores include convenience and dollar stores, not only supermarkets. USDA's main definition counts people more than 1 mile from a store in urban census tracts and more than 10 miles in rural tracts; two other urban/rural thresholds and four single distances (half a mile to 20 miles) are also served. County and state figures are our sums of ERS's tract counts.","explorer":true,"search_aliases":{"en":["grocery store access","distance to groceries","far from stores","SNAP retailers","food stamps stores","convenience stores","dollar stores","healthy food access","lack of nearby stores"],"es":["acceso a supermercados","acceso a tiendas","tiendas de comestibles","lejos de las tiendas","tiendas SNAP","cupones de alimentos","distancia a la tienda","tiendas de conveniencia","acceso a alimentos saludables"]},"source":"U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service: Food Access Research Atlas, 2025 SNAP-authorized Retailer Access Map (SRAM) data download (released July 2026; 2020 census tracts, 2020 Census population, SNAP-authorized stores as of June 2025), retrieved 2026-10-24. Citation: Rhone, Alana, et al. Food Access Research Atlas: SNAP-authorized Retailer Access Map (SRAM) data, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 2026. Reference guide: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/documentation/snap-authorized-retailer-access-map-reference-guide","source_url":"https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/download-the-data","endpoint":"/api/v1/health/food_access","columns":[{"name":"year","type":"integer","role":"year","nullable":false,"label":"Year","short_description":"","description":"2025, the date of ERS's store list (SNAP-authorized stores as of June 2025); the population is from the 2020 Census (see year_meaning). One release.","valid_values":null,"example":2025,"unit":null,"value_min":null,"value_max":null,"null_meaning":null,"key_metric_grain_contributor":false,"metric_component":null},{"name":"county_fips","type":"string","role":"fk_county","nullable":true,"label":"County FIPS","short_description":"","description":"5-digit county FIPS code (FK to the counties dimension), set on county rows. NULL on tract rows (the tracts dimension gives each tract's county) and on the Georgia row.","valid_values":null,"example":"13117","unit":null,"value_min":null,"value_max":null,"null_meaning":"Tract row (the row's geography is tract_geoid) or the Georgia (state) row.","key_metric_grain_contributor":false,"metric_component":null},{"name":"tract_geoid","type":"string","role":"fk_tract","nullable":true,"label":"Tract GEOID","short_description":"","description":"11-digit 2020 census tract GEOID (FK to the tracts dimension), set on tract rows. NULL on county rows and the Georgia row. ERS's 2,791 Georgia tracts: the tracts dimension's 5 water-only tracts (99xxxx) have no rows, and its 7 special-use tracts with no residents (98xxxx) have rows with a population of 0.","valid_values":null,"example":"13117130304","unit":null,"value_min":null,"value_max":null,"null_meaning":"County row (county_fips) or the Georgia (state) row.","key_metric_grain_contributor":false,"metric_component":null},{"name":"distance_method","type":"string","role":"categorical","nullable":false,"label":"Distance Method","short_description":"How distance to the nearest SNAP-authorized store is measured; straight_line is the default.","description":"How ERS measured the distance from where people live to the nearest SNAP-authorized store: straight_line (a straight line, 'as the crow flies') or driving (along the road network). Both measure the same residents: pick one, never add across them. Road distances are longer, so driving counts are at least the straight-line counts everywhere but one Gwinnett tract (3 fewer people beyond half a mile by road).","valid_values":["straight_line","driving"],"example":"straight_line","unit":null,"value_min":null,"value_max":null,"null_meaning":null,"key_metric_grain_contributor":true,"metric_component":null},{"name":"distance_threshold","type":"string","role":"categorical","nullable":false,"label":"Distance Threshold","short_description":"How far from a SNAP-authorized store counts as low access; 1_mile_urban_10_miles_rural is USDA's main definition.","description":"The distance to the nearest SNAP-authorized store beyond which a resident counts as having low access. USDA's urban/rural definitions: 1_mile_urban_10_miles_rural (USDA's main definition: more than 1 mile in urban tracts, more than 10 miles in rural tracts), half_mile_urban_10_miles_rural and 1_mile_urban_20_miles_rural. One distance for every tract, urban or rural: all_tracts_half_mile, all_tracts_1_mile, all_tracts_10_miles and all_tracts_20_miles. ERS calls a tract urban when its population-weighted center lies in a Census Bureau urban area (at least 5,000 people or 2,000 housing units), rural otherwise. The thresholds nest (a resident beyond 1 mile is also beyond half a mile): pick one, never add across them.","valid_values":["1_mile_urban_10_miles_rural","half_mile_urban_10_miles_rural","1_mile_urban_20_miles_rural","all_tracts_half_mile","all_tracts_1_mile","all_tracts_10_miles","all_tracts_20_miles"],"example":"1_mile_urban_10_miles_rural","unit":null,"value_min":null,"value_max":null,"null_meaning":null,"key_metric_grain_contributor":true,"metric_component":null},{"name":"num_population_low_access","type":"integer","role":"metric","nullable":true,"label":"Residents with Low Access","short_description":"","description":"Residents (2020 Census) living beyond the distance threshold from the nearest SNAP-authorized store as of June 2025, by the row's distance_method: ERS's count for a tract; the sum of its tract counts for a county or Georgia (our calculation). ERS's tract counts are rounded estimates (people placed within the tract from population density patterns), so a 0 can be less than one person. The numerator of pct_population_low_access.","valid_values":null,"example":92896,"unit":"count","value_min":null,"value_max":null,"null_meaning":"Never NULL: ERS publishes a count for every tract and suppresses nothing.","key_metric_grain_contributor":false,"metric_component":"numerator"},{"name":"num_population","type":"integer","role":"metric","nullable":true,"label":"Population (2020 Census)","short_description":"","description":"The 2020 Census population: ERS's tract count (equal to the tracts dimension's population_2020), summed for a county or Georgia (10,711,908). 0 on the 7 special-use tracts with no residents. The same on every distance_method and distance_threshold row of a place: never add it across them. The denominator of pct_population_low_access.","valid_values":null,"example":251283,"unit":"count","value_min":null,"value_max":null,"null_meaning":"Never NULL: every Georgia tract in ERS's file has a 2020 Census population (0 on the 7 special-use tracts with no residents).","key_metric_grain_contributor":false,"metric_component":"denominator"},{"name":"pct_population_low_access","type":"number","role":"metric","nullable":true,"label":"Share of Residents with Low Access to a SNAP-Authorized Store","short_description":"Share of residents living beyond the distance threshold from the nearest SNAP-authorized store.","description":"Share of residents (2020 Census) living beyond the distance threshold from the nearest SNAP-authorized store as of June 2025, convenience and dollar stores included: our calculation, num_population_low_access / num_population, on the 0-1 scale (0.128 = 12.8%). Georgia at USDA's main definition (1 mile urban / 10 miles rural): 12.8% straight-line, 28.2% driving. Straight-line, 35.4% at half a mile urban / 10 miles rural, 12.8% at 1 mile urban / 20 miles rural, 59.9% beyond half a mile and 31.6% beyond 1 mile in every tract; driving, 49.5%, 28.0%, 76.1% and 51.4%. Beyond 10 miles: 1,182 people straight-line, 21,827 driving. Low access to any SNAP store, not USDA's low-income and low-access tract designation. For several places, pool as SUM(num_population_low_access) / SUM(num_population) within one method and threshold. Chattahoochee County, mostly the Fort Benning army post (23% of its residents live in group quarters), has the highest share, 56.1% straight-line and 68.1% driving, preserved as published; next are Forsyth (37.0%, 63.7%) and Fayette (35.5%, 56.8%).","valid_values":null,"example":0.3697,"unit":"proportion","value_min":null,"value_max":null,"null_meaning":"NULL only on the 7 special-use tracts with no residents (num_population 0): a share of nobody is undefined.","key_metric_grain_contributor":false,"metric_component":null}],"key_metric":"pct_population_low_access","numeric_filter_columns":["num_population_low_access","num_population","pct_population_low_access"],"usage":"Star-schema fact table at state, county and 2020 census-tract grain, one release (year 2025). Join the counties dimension on county_fips (county rows) and the tracts dimension on tract_geoid (tract rows; it gives each tract's county); the Georgia row has both NULL. Always pin distance_method (straight_line is the default) and distance_threshold (1_mile_urban_10_miles_rural is USDA's main low-access definition): the methods measure the same residents and the thresholds nest, so never add rows across either. For several places, pool as SUM(num_population_low_access) / SUM(num_population) within one method and threshold, never an average of shares. num_population repeats on every method and threshold row of a place: never add it across them. Tract rows add up exactly to their county rows, and county rows to the Georgia row. County and state figures are our calculation, sums of ERS's 2020 census-tract counts. Read directly with DuckDB over Parquet.","limitations":"Low access to any SNAP-authorized store, not to a supermarket: a resident counts when the nearest store accepting SNAP benefits in June 2025, including convenience and dollar stores, is beyond the distance. Not a 'food desert' measure, and not comparable with health/usda/food_access_2019 (supermarkets, 2010 tracts, a 2019 store list) or with USDA's low-income and low-access (LILA) tract designation. County and state rows are our sums of ERS's tract counts. One release (year 2025 labels the store list; the people are the 2020 Census population on 2020 tracts; see year_meaning). Because small stores count, rural low access nearly vanishes (1,182 Georgians live more than 10 miles from a SNAP store in a straight line, 21,827 by road) and, after Chattahoochee County (mostly the Fort Benning army post), the highest county shares are suburbs where homes are more than a mile from any store (Forsyth 37.0%, Fayette 35.5% at USDA's main definition, straight-line); 60 counties show 0 people low-access by that definition straight-line, 2 by road. Pin one distance_method (straight_line: straight-line distance; driving: along roads) and one distance_threshold (1_mile_urban_10_miles_rural: USDA's main definition, more than 1 mile in an urban census tract and more than 10 miles in a rural one): the methods measure the same people, and the thresholds nest. ERS calls a tract urban when its population-weighted center lies in a Census Bureau urban area (at least 5,000 people or 2,000 housing units). Distance runs from where ERS placed each tract's people (LandScan USA 2020 density patterns) to the nearest store and ignores whether people have a vehicle, transit, prices and store quality. Driving counts are at least the straight-line counts everywhere but one Gwinnett tract, which has 3 fewer people beyond half a mile by road. Tract counts are ERS's rounded estimates, so a 0 can be less than one person rather than nobody, and a county's sum can differ by a few people from an unrounded total. Residents of group quarters (dormitories, barracks, prisons, nursing homes: 255,178 Georgians in ERS's file) count where they live; ERS marks 15 Georgia tracts where at least 67% of residents live in group quarters. ERS suppresses nothing. The 7 special-use tracts with no residents (tract codes 98xxxx) have counts of 0 and a NULL share; the tracts dimension's 5 water-only tracts (99xxxx) are not in ERS's file and have no rows. Not served: ERS's counts for low-income people, children, seniors, race and ethnicity groups, veterans, households without a vehicle and SNAP households, its tract flags (including the LILA flags) and its tract context columns.","null_semantics":{"suppressed_to_null":false,"zero_is_real":false},"available_years":[2025],"schema_hash":"f9a57b0379da8bc97eaafd586d54d0314cad9251306e3db1c0fa57a60bb1a936","tags":["health","u.s. department of agriculture, economic research service: food access research atlas, 2025 snap-authorized retailer access map","food_access"],"granularity_description":"One row per year, county_fips, tract_geoid, distance_method, distance_threshold (geography columns are NULL at higher aggregation levels).","example_queries":[{"description":"Latest year (2025), counties detail","query":"SELECT * FROM food_access WHERE year = 2025 LIMIT 100"},{"description":"Filter by distance_method = straight_line","query":"SELECT * FROM food_access WHERE distance_method = 'straight_line' AND year = 2025 LIMIT 100"}],"foreign_keys":[{"column":"county_fips","target_object":"counties","target_columns":["county_fips"],"attribute_columns_added":["county_name"],"scope":"global"},{"column":"tract_geoid","target_object":"tracts","target_columns":["tract_geoid"],"attribute_columns_added":["tract_name"],"scope":"global"}],"filters":[{"param":"year","kind":"year_exact","type":"integer","multi_value":false,"enum_enforced":false,"values":null},{"param":"year_min","kind":"year_range","type":"integer","multi_value":false,"enum_enforced":false,"values":null},{"param":"year_max","kind":"year_range","type":"integer","multi_value":false,"enum_enforced":false,"values":null},{"param":"detail","kind":"detail","type":"string","multi_value":false,"enum_enforced":true,"values":["counties","states","tracts"],"default":"counties"},{"param":"county_fips","kind":"foreign_key","column":"county_fips","type":"string","multi_value":true,"enum_enforced":false,"values":null},{"param":"tract_geoid","kind":"foreign_key","column":"tract_geoid","type":"string","multi_value":true,"enum_enforced":false,"values":null},{"param":"distance_method","kind":"categorical","column":"distance_method","type":"string","multi_value":true,"enum_enforced":true,"values":["straight_line","driving"],"has_total":false,"total_value":null,"requires_single_value":true,"nullable":false,"null_filter_token":null},{"param":"distance_threshold","kind":"categorical","column":"distance_threshold","type":"string","multi_value":true,"enum_enforced":true,"values":["1_mile_urban_10_miles_rural","half_mile_urban_10_miles_rural","1_mile_urban_20_miles_rural","all_tracts_half_mile","all_tracts_1_mile","all_tracts_10_miles","all_tracts_20_miles"],"has_total":false,"total_value":null,"requires_single_value":true,"nullable":false,"null_filter_token":null}],"filter_hints":[],"non_additive":[{"column":"distance_method","reason":"Straight-line and driving distance measure the same residents two ways, and num_population is the place's whole 2020 population on both. A sum across methods is not a total: pick one method."},{"column":"distance_threshold","reason":"The thresholds count the same residents at different distances: everyone beyond 1 mile is also beyond half a mile, and the urban/rural definitions overlap the single distances they are built from. num_population is the place's whole 2020 population, repeated on every threshold row. A sum across thresholds is not a total: pick one threshold."}],"partitions":[],"value_implications":[],"year_meaning":"year 2025 is the date of ERS's store list: the stores authorized to accept SNAP benefits as of June 2025 (USDA's Store Tracking and Redemption System). The people counted are the 2020 Census population on 2020 census tracts, which ERS placed within each tract using LandScan USA 2020 population density patterns, so each figure says how many 2020 residents lived far from a June 2025 store, not how many Georgians lived far from a store in 2025. ERS released the map in July 2026; it is one release, not a series, and no other year is in this table.","pooled_rates":[],"series_breaks":[],"year_window":null,"pooled_min_count":null,"values_endpoint":"/api/v1/health/food_access/values"}