Full Breakdown
Taxpayer Subsidies for Amazon and Walmart Workers Reach Billions
7/27/2026, 9:40:11 PM
Core Subsidy Estimates
Popular Information estimates that more than 156,000 Walmart employees receive Medicaid, costing U.S. taxpayers roughly $1.04 billion annually. A similar analysis puts the number of Amazon employees on Medicaid at about 123,000, with an associated taxpayer expense of approximately $927 million. These figures reflect only the direct cost of coverage for the employees themselves; inclusion of eligible dependents would roughly double the total outlay.
Methodology and Source Data
The estimates draw on a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that identified the top 25 Medicaid-enrolling employers in six states—Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island. State-level enrollment numbers for Amazon and Walmart workers were combined with company-disclosed workforce totals to calculate an average enrollment rate for each retailer. That rate was then applied to employee counts in the remaining states. Finally, the average annual cost per non-elderly, non-disabled enrollee, as published by the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), was used to translate enrollment numbers into dollar amounts. Popular Information notes that the MACPAC cost data reflect fiscal year 2023, and that 2025–2026 costs are likely higher.
Compensation Disparities
In Walmart’s 2026 fiscal year, CEO Doug McMillon received total compensation exceeding $29.2 million, while the median Walmart worker earned $30,520—a compensation ratio of roughly 958 to 1. For Amazon, CEO Andy Jassy earned $2.1 million in 2024 after a $212 million stock-based package in 2021; the median Amazon employee earned $40,206 that year. These earnings place many frontline workers below the Medicaid eligibility threshold for a family of three.
Corporate Responses
An Amazon spokesperson responded that the company is a major job creator and cautioned that raw enrollment numbers can be misleading without considering percentages. The spokesperson also emphasized that Medicaid and SNAP eligibility depend on total household income and family size, and that part-time options offered by Amazon may increase eligibility. Walmart declined to comment on the analysis.
Broader Implications
The analysis highlights a growing fiscal burden on taxpayers supporting low-wage employees of two of the nation’s most profitable retailers. At the same time, the wealth of Walmart’s Walton family and Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos more than doubled between 2021 and 2025, underscoring a widening gap between executive wealth and the economic security of rank-and-file workers.
