- A growing share of Americans are struggling to get by despite holding down jobs.
- They're ALICE: asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed. They can't always afford necessities.
- ALICE household survival budgets are in the six-figures in some parts of the country.
If you feel you need to make more money than ever just to get by, you're not alone.
Salaries needed to afford essentials have been ticking up, pointing to an increasingly large hole in the country's safety net. That comes as more Americans have been joining the ranks of ALICE: They're asset-limited, income-constrained, but employed. In practical terms, nearly a third of Americans are working and making enough money not to be eligible for public assistance but are still struggling to get by.
New data from research organization United For ALICE, shared exclusively with Business Insider, looks at the ALICE household survival budget, which varies county by county and measures how much a family needs to make to afford necessities. The survival budget considers expenses such as food, housing, childcare, transportation, and healthcare, in addition to taxes and an emergency fund.
Here's what ALICE household survival budgets for a typical family of four look like across the country. These budgets are the highest in coastal states, and some budgets are well into six figures. Some states, such as California and Virginia, are entirely dark blue, meaning budgets of over $85,000 in each county, while others are almost entirely lighter blue, where budgets are in the $60,000s.
In most cases, ALICE household survival budgets are well above the federal poverty level — showcasing a fundamental disconnect between how many government and private aid programs assess who needs help and who's still struggling. It's leaving many workers in a precarious spot.
"Folks are budgeting and planning and trying to work more hours — and yet, inflation is happening, and their hours are increasing one week, and then the kid gets sick, and they can't go, and they don't get paid that week," Stephanie Hoopes, national director at United For ALICE, told BI.
In some areas, ALICE household survival budgets top six figures; even in Stanton, Kansas — the county with the lowest household survival budget for a family of four that includes a preschooler and an infant — families must bring in nearly $61,000 to get by. That's nearly twice as much as the federal poverty guideline of $31,200 for a family of four. In El Paso, Texas — a larger county with a lower cost of living — that budget is $68,784.
According to the new report, between 2021 and 2022, the number of ALICE households rose by nearly 1.6 million, while the number of households in poverty increased by 208,000. The total number of ALICE households jumped 12% between 2010 and 2022, particularly impacting single parents and people of color. During these 12 years, the percent change in single-male-headed ALICE households grew 35%. As many as 54 million American families, or 42%, are below the ALICE threshold.
Childcare costs have also skyrocketed recently. A BI analysis found the cost to care for one child this year is at least $25,714. According to United Way, over a third of parents said they cut work hours or took unpaid leave when childcare facilities were unaffordable or closed.
Since the start of the pandemic, wages have increased across the board for many lower-wage jobs — in some cases faster than inflation. From 2019 to 2022, for instance, wages for cashiers grew 19%, for fast food and counter workers 23%, and for waiters 27%. However, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find higher-paying work.
Those tight survival budget margins are also contributing to another looming economic crisis. Many workers in America are wholly unprepared for retirement, instead working just to get by; that's particularly true for workers who are ALICE. In 2022, over half of US households 65 or older were below the ALICE threshold, as millions of Americans are unable to survive solely off of Social Security benefits or their retirement funds.
"Part of the survival budget is there's no savings in there," Hoopes said. "So even if those folks in their working years are just getting by and just over that ALICE threshold, they're not saving — and then they're going to roll into retirement with no savings; Social Security is not going to be enough."
Are you an ALICE or are struggling to make ends meet? Reach out to these reporters at [email protected] and [email protected].