Workers at 20 top US firms rely on Medicaid and SNAP, report finds
Mar 4th 2026
A new report finds millions of workers at 20 large US companies earn wages low enough to push many onto public assistance while CEOs receive large pay and companies conduct big stock buybacks.
- The Institute for Policy Studies says the “Low-Wage 20” employs 6.7 million people in the US.
- Median pay at 75% of these companies is below the Medicaid income minimum for a family of three in most states.
- At 13 of the companies median pay is below the SNAP income threshold for a family of three.
- In Nevada in 2024, 29.3% of Walmart workers and 48.4% of Amazon workers were enrolled in Medicaid, as reported.
- Across four states that disclose SNAP data, 10,920 Walmart workers and 9,633 Amazon workers were enrolled in SNAP in 2024.
- Average median pay among the group fell 4.6% after inflation from $30,474 in 2019 to $29,087 in 2024.
- Average CEO pay at these firms was $18.9 million in 2024, giving an average CEO to median worker ratio of $899 to $1.
- The report highlights large stock buybacks, noting Lowe’s and Home Depot spent $46.6 billion and $37.9 billion respectively, and warns proposed federal cuts could remove Medicaid from 7.5 million people and SNAP from 4 million.