The best source of Wilson's Snipe trends is the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). Although the species is inconspicuous except for displaying males, and the northernmost portion of its range is poorly covered, overall geographic extent and precision of the BBS are sufficient to generate highly reliable trends. The national BBS trend shows distinct fluctuations from the 1970s to the early 2000s, and a more stable pattern ever since. Overall, abundance is approximately 50% higher than in 1970. In contrast, the continental Christmas Bird Count (CBC) trend shows a largely steady decline since 1970, amounting to a decline of 68% over that period. Given that nearly 70% of the continental population breeds in Canada, this trend should largely reflect the Canadian breeding population. The Marsh Monitoring Program shows moderate to large increases in Ontario since 1995, but a large decline since the program was initiated in Quebec in 2004. Regional BBS trends also vary widely, with many reflecting the national trend of little change, but others ranging from large declines exceeding 80% in coastal British Columbia and the Maritimes, to a large increase of over 400% in the southern Prairies. Because of variability among the indices, confidence in the moderate increase shown by the BBS is low.

The goal for Wilson's Snipe is to remain at or above its recent population level, based on the Breeding Bird Survey. Trend data show that Wilson's Snipe is currently within its goal range.