How Much Can You Receive in SSI Disability?

Everyone who receives disability benefits through SSI (Supplemental Security Income) is eligible for the same SSI benefit amount, $914. But, your actual monthly SSI payment will depend on:

• what state you live in
• whether you have any "countable" income, and
• whether you're married.

How Much Does SSI Disability Pay?

In 2023, the maximum SSI payment is $914. But most SSI recipients receive less than the federal benefit rate of $914, and some receive more. Your actual monthly payment will depend on how much income you or your family earns and how much of a "state supplemental payment" (SSP) your state pays, if any. The average SSI amount for 2023 is likely to be around $700, but the SSA hasn't released this figure yet.

If you're married and your spouse is also eligible for SSI benefits, you'll get less than two individuals would get. The maximum federal benefit rate for couples is only $1,371, which is less than two $914 payments.

What Was the Average SSI Benefit in 2022?

The average federal SSI payment for all adults in 2022 was $604 per month, but disabled adults (compared to elderly adults) received a bit more than the average. (And this average is before any state supplemental payments are added.)

Children on SSI received an average of $683 per month in 2022 (before state supplemental payments).

Does the SSI Payment Amount Vary by State?

While the federal benefit rate of $914 is the same throughout the United States, many states add a state supplemental payment onto the federal benefit. The extra state payment varies from $10 to $400, depending on the state.

Even within your own state, the supplementary payment can vary depending on whether you're married or single and what your living arrangement is. For instance, in 2023, California adds an extra $160 to the monthly SSI payment for people living independently with a kitchen and $247 for those living independently without cooking facilities.

Which States Pay Extra SSI Payments, and How Much?

While many states pay all SSI recipients some additional money, some states pay the supplement only to SSI recipients who live in nursing homes. For example, Texas pays a $60 supplement to those living in a nursing home and pays nothing to others. Similarly, Georgia pays an extra $20 to those living in nursing homes, and nothing to others. Maine pays only $10 extra, both to those living independently and those living in nursing homes.

A few states don't pay a supplement at all, including Arizona, North Dakota, and West Virginia. Oregon no longer pays an SSI supplementary payment, but some residents with special needs can receive a cash benefit through the Oregon Supplemental Income Program.

California pays the average highest supplement, making the average payment there $729 per month (in 2022). Here are the average SSI 2022 payments, including the state supplemental amounts, for the next ten states with the most SSI recipients.

SSI Payment Amounts by State

California	$729
Florida	$605
Georgia	$603
Illinois	$614
Michigan	$615
New York	$616
North Carolina	$590
Ohio	$608
Pennsylvania	$617
Tennessee	$597
Texas	$598

Visit our state SSI disability articles to learn the details of the SSI payment for your state.

Does Social Security Send the State SSI Checks?

The SSA administers (pays) the state supplement for some states, including California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, so the extra state payment is included in people's SSI checks in those states.

Other states pay the supplement directly to you, separately from your federal SSI payment. If you live in a state that pays its own supplement, you need to apply for the state disability check directly from a state agency (the SSA can tell you how).

If the SSA administers the payment for your state, you apply for it automatically when you fill out an SSI application; there's no need to fill out another form.

For more information, see our article on the state supplementary payment.

How Does Income Affect Your SSI Payment?

If you have any income coming in other than SSI, some of it, but not all of it, will be subtracted from your SSI payment.

The SSA will first look to see what income you have is countable. Countable income includes:

• money you earn from work (you can make a small amount of money and still be eligible for SSI)
• food or shelter you get for free, or for less than what it's worth (called "in-kind support and maintenance," or ISM)
• money you get from friends or family, and
• other benefits, such as workers' compensation, unemployment, SSDI, or a pension.

But not all of your income is subtracted from your SSI payment. Each month, the SSA does not count:

• the first $20 of any kind of income you receive
• the first $65 of money you earn from work, plus half of the remainder
• food stamps
• income tax refunds, or
• food or shelter provided by a nonprofit agency.

How Is the Amount of SSI Determined When You Have Income?

Here's an example of how the SSA deducts part of your income when it calculates your SSI payment.

Let's say Maria makes $625 per month from a part-time job, before taxes. Because the SSA won't count the first $20 of any income per month, and the first $65 of earnings, this leaves Maria's countable income at $540 ($625 - $20 - $65). Next, the SSA doesn't count half of Maria's remaining earnings, or $270 ($540/2) in Maria's case. So, out of the $625 in income that Maria makes, the SSA only counts $270 as countable income, and it will subtract $270 from Maria's SSI payment. In 2023, Maria's monthly payment will be $644 ($914-$270).

How Is Free Food and Shelter Subtracted From Your SSI Payment?

If you live with someone else and you receive free room and board, your SSI payment will be reduced by one-third. (It doesn't matter how much free rent you receive or how much food you get.)

Here's an example: You live in a state that doesn't pay extra for SSI, so if you lived on your own, you would get $914 per month. But you live with your sister and you don't contribute to rent or food costs. The SSA will lower your monthly check to $610 per month (two-thirds of $914). Read our article on "in-kind support" for more information.

2023 Cost of Living Increase

The federal SSI amount regularly increases with cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) each year. The COLA is usually between 1.3% and 2%, but some years it can be as high as 8% or as low as 0%.

For 2023, the COLA is a whopping 8.7%, which increases the maximum federal SSI payment from $841 in 2022 to $914 in 2023. But in 2021, the COLA was only 1.3%, which only added $11 to the monthly federal SSI payment. Read our article on Social Security's annual COLA for more information.

_{Updated December 29, 2022}