ALICE is short for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed. It serves as a crucial metric highlighting households in a given area earning above the Federal Poverty Level yet falling short of covering the essential costs of living—the ALICE Threshold. These individuals and families are diligently employed, often juggling multiple jobs or holding essential positions, but find financial stability elusive due to stagnant wages and the relentless rise in living expenses.
Seven key household budget categories vital to the core mission of United Ways:
Housing, Childcare & Education, Food, Transportation, Healthcare, Technology, and Taxes.
Data & Research
Of the 130,995,042 households in the U.S. in 2022…
- 13% earned below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
- 29% were ALICE, in households that earned above the FPL but not enough to afford the basics in the communities where they live
- Together, 42% of households in the U.S. were below the ALICE Threshold(poverty + ALICE divided by total households)
Before the pandemic, in 2019, 50,412,382 households were below the ALICE Threshold; by 2022 that number had changed to 55,043,727.
