Government Benefits in New York
Where New York residents apply for SNAP, Medicaid, home energy assistance, and unemployment insurance, plus every nationwide program available to everyone.
How This Works
SNAP, Medicaid, LIHEAP, and unemployment insurance are all administered at the state level, so each state runs its own application portal and sets some of its own rules — including, for Medicaid, whether the state expanded eligibility to more adults under the Affordable Care Act, and for unemployment insurance, the maximum weekly benefit and how long you can collect it. The cards below link you straight to New York's official application system for each program. Exact SNAP/Medicaid income limits change with annual poverty-guideline updates, so we intentionally don't publish a specific number for those — the portal will show your exact cutoff for your household size. Unemployment insurance figures below are official published caps from the U.S. Department of Labor, current as of January 2026.
SNAP
NY Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance
NYC residents use ACCESS HRA (access.nyc.gov) instead.
New York Medicaid
Medicaid ExpandedNY Dept. of Health
New York expanded Medicaid, so adults without dependent children can qualify based on income alone.
HEAP (Home Energy Assistance)
NY Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance
New York's Home Energy Assistance Program, seasonal (opens in fall/winter).
Unemployment Insurance
No Waiting WeekNYS Dept. of Labor
Max Weekly
$869
Min Weekly
$140
Max Duration
26 weeks
No waiting week (eliminated in 2020).
Looking for more programs available to New York residents?
New York residents also qualify for every nationwide program on our full benefits tool — WIC, Lifeline phone/internet discounts, ACA health insurance subsidies, SSI, SSDI, Section 8, VA disability compensation, TANF, Pell Grants, Head Start, and unemployment insurance.
See All 16 Programs →