Livestock production constitutes an integral part of livelihood activities in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa because of its contribution to households’ food security, but the demand surge is currently triggering sustainability challenges. Using the 2021 South African General Household Survey datasets from 1499 households, this study used the non-economic indicators and economic components of human functionality for a comprehensive analysis of human welfare. Welfare index score approach and Simultaneous Quantile Regression model were used for households’ welfare profiling, and to estimate the welfare impact of special grant, respectively. The results indicated that socio-economic, demographic features and access to grant had direct and inverse effects on households’ welfare. These factors also dictated the distribution of households into different quintiles of welfare conditions. Given the findings, policy efforts on social investment programmes should be directed at the vulnerable individuals, because this can induce improved households’ welfare situation in the study area.