The Federal Government fully funds SNAP benefits, but FNS and state agencies share administrative expenses, with each paying about 50 percent. State administrative expenses (SAE) per case - total annual SAE costs divided by the average monthly number of households receiving SNAP benefits - varies widely by state. Using state reported data from FY 1999 to FY 2016 for the 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC), this study explores a number of factors, including state economic conditions, SNAP caseload characteristics, state SNAP policies, to try to explain the variation by state.