diff --git a/packages/snaps-controllers/CHANGELOG.md b/packages/snaps-controllers/CHANGELOG.md
index e9c77b0cd4..90936d413b 100644
--- a/packages/snaps-controllers/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/packages/snaps-controllers/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,12 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Changed
+
+- **BREAKING:** Add `setEventDate` to `CronjobControllerStateManager` ([#4107](https://github.com/MetaMask/snaps/pull/4107))
+  - `CronjobController` now persists a rescheduled event's next execution date through `setEventDate(id, date)` rather than passing the entire state to `set`. Rescheduling is the controller's most frequent write and changes only this field, so clients may now store dates separately and merge them back in `getInitialState`.
+  - Implementers of `CronjobControllerStateManager` must add the method. Delegating to `set` with the date applied preserves existing behaviour.
+
 ## [21.1.0]
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/packages/snaps-controllers/src/cronjob/CronjobController.test.ts b/packages/snaps-controllers/src/cronjob/CronjobController.test.ts
index 3ec745717c..3a55d4abea 100644
--- a/packages/snaps-controllers/src/cronjob/CronjobController.test.ts
+++ b/packages/snaps-controllers/src/cronjob/CronjobController.test.ts
@@ -23,16 +23,38 @@ const MOCK_VERSION = '1.0.0' as SemVerVersion;
 /**
  * Get a mock state manager for the `CronjobController`.
  *
- * @returns A state manager object with `get` and `set` methods.
+ * @returns A state manager object with `getInitialState`, `set` and
+ * `setEventDate` methods.
  */
 function getMockStateManager(): CronjobControllerStateManager {
   let state: CronjobControllerState | undefined;
 
+  // Dates are stored apart from the rest of the state, mirroring how a client
+  // is expected to implement this, and merged back on read.
+  const dates = new Map<string, string>();
+
   return {
-    getInitialState: () => state,
+    getInitialState: () => {
+      if (!state) {
+        return undefined;
+      }
+
+      return {
+        ...state,
+        events: Object.fromEntries(
+          Object.entries(state.events).map(([id, event]) => [
+            id,
+            { ...event, date: dates.get(id) ?? event.date },
+          ]),
+        ),
+      };
+    },
     set: (newState) => {
       state = newState;
     },
+    setEventDate: (id, date) => {
+      dates.set(id, date);
+    },
   };
 }
 
@@ -469,6 +491,59 @@ describe('CronjobController', () => {
     cronjobController.destroy();
   });
 
+  it('persists a reschedule through `setEventDate`, without rewriting all state', async () => {
+    const rootMessenger = getRootCronjobControllerMessenger();
+    const controllerMessenger =
+      getRestrictedCronjobControllerMessenger(rootMessenger);
+
+    const handleRequest = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+    rootMessenger.registerActionHandler(
+      'SnapController:handleRequest',
+      handleRequest,
+    );
+
+    const stateManager = getMockStateManager();
+    const set = jest.spyOn(stateManager, 'set');
+    const setEventDate = jest.spyOn(stateManager, 'setEventDate');
+
+    const cronjobController = new CronjobController({
+      messenger: controllerMessenger,
+      stateManager,
+      state: {
+        events: {
+          [`cronjob-${MOCK_SNAP_ID}-0`]: {
+            id: `cronjob-${MOCK_SNAP_ID}-0`,
+            snapId: MOCK_SNAP_ID,
+            date: new Date('2022-01-01T00:00Z').toISOString(),
+            scheduledAt: new Date('2022-01-01T00:00Z').toISOString(),
+            schedule: 'PT25H',
+            recurring: true,
+            request: {
+              method: 'exampleMethod',
+              params: ['p1'],
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    });
+
+    cronjobController.init();
+
+    await new Promise((resolve) => originalProcessNextTick(resolve));
+    expect(handleRequest).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+    // Firing the event reschedules it, which is the write this change is
+    // about: one date, not the whole event map.
+    expect(setEventDate).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      `cronjob-${MOCK_SNAP_ID}-0`,
+      expect.any(String),
+    );
+
+    expect(set).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+    cronjobController.destroy();
+  });
+
   it('handles the `snapInstalled` event', () => {
     const rootMessenger = getRootCronjobControllerMessenger();
     const controllerMessenger =
diff --git a/packages/snaps-controllers/src/cronjob/CronjobController.ts b/packages/snaps-controllers/src/cronjob/CronjobController.ts
index 8a8ad0ca60..cf92079d5f 100644
--- a/packages/snaps-controllers/src/cronjob/CronjobController.ts
+++ b/packages/snaps-controllers/src/cronjob/CronjobController.ts
@@ -71,6 +71,20 @@ export const DAILY_TIMEOUT = inMilliseconds(24, Duration.Hour);
 
 export type CronjobControllerStateManager = {
   set(state: CronjobControllerState): void;
+
+  /**
+   * Persist a single event's next execution date.
+   *
+   * Rescheduling is by far the most frequent write this controller makes — a
+   * snap with a `PT30S` schedule reschedules every thirty seconds — and it
+   * changes one field. Routing it here lets an implementation store dates
+   * separately instead of re-serialising every event on each tick.
+   *
+   * @param id - The ID of the event.
+   * @param date - The next execution date, as an ISO 8601 string.
+   */
+  setEventDate(id: string, date: string): void;
+
   getInitialState(): CronjobControllerState | undefined;
 };
 
@@ -389,11 +403,11 @@ export class CronjobController extends BaseController<
     }
 
     const date = getExecutionDate(event.schedule);
-    const { nextState } = this.update((state) => {
+    this.update((state) => {
       state.events[event.id].date = date;
     });
 
-    this.#stateManager.set(nextState);
+    this.#stateManager.setEventDate(event.id, date);
 
     this.#startTimer({
       ...event,