ALICE
ALICE
ABOUT ALICE
ASSET LIMITED INCOME CONSTRAINED EMPLOYED
Often referred to as the “working poor,” ALICE families are those who do not fall within poverty guidelines, but are struggling to stretch their income from pay check to pay check. Learn more about ALICE here.
In United Way of St. Joseph County’s mission to move people from poverty to possibility, it is critical to focus on all families that are struggling. This includes those living below the poverty line, as well as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed) families who do not qualify for many programs and benefits but are likely an emergency away from falling into the cycle of poverty.
2020 ALICE Report (based on 2018 data)
To maintain a survival budget in St. Joseph County for a family of 4—a single working individual must earn $30.38/hr, (or $15.19/hr. each, for 2 working adults.) To put these budgets in perspective, the median hourly wage for cashiers, one of the top five most common occupations in Indiana, was $9.68 per hour in 2018, or $19,360 if full time — which is not enough to maintain a single adult on a survival budget , let alone a family of 4. In the 2018 ALICE Study of Financial Hardship, community data showed that 37% of families in St. Joseph County were struggling. 23% of those were ALICE households and 14% were households in (Federal) poverty. This study was conducted in a pre-COVID economy.
Click to read about the 2018 Indiana ALICE report.
2021 ALICE Update
In 2021 the University of Notre Dame Center for Social Science Research conducted an ALICE analysis for Elkhart, LaPorte, Marshall and St. Joseph counties using up-to-date data. The purpose of the updated report is to estimate budgets and thresholds taking into account the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on all aspects of life and specifically the economy in our region. You can view the full report and separate reports for each county below.
Graphics below based on 2020 ALICE Report.
ALICE
ASSET LIMITED INCOME CONSTRAINED EMPLOYED
Often referred to as the “working poor,” ALICE families are those who do not fall within poverty guidelines, but are struggling to stretch their income from pay check to pay check. Learn more about ALICE here.
In United Way of St. Joseph County’s mission to move people from poverty to possibility, it is critical to focus on all families that are struggling. This includes those living below the poverty line, as well as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed) families who do not qualify for many programs and benefits but are likely an emergency away from falling into the cycle of poverty.
2020 ALICE Report (based on 2018 data)
To maintain a survival budget in St. Joseph County for a family of 4—a single working individual must earn $30.38/hr, (or $15.19/hr. each, for 2 working adults.) To put these budgets in perspective, the median hourly wage for cashiers, one of the top five most common occupations in Indiana, was $9.68 per hour in 2018, or $19,360 if full time — which is not enough to maintain a single adult on a survival budget , let alone a family of 4. In the 2018 ALICE Study of Financial Hardship, community data showed that 37% of families in St. Joseph County were struggling. 23% of those were ALICE households and 14% were households in (Federal) poverty. This study was conducted in a pre-COVID economy.
Click to read about the 2018 Indiana ALICE report.
2021 ALICE Update
In 2021 the University of Notre Dame Center for Social Science Research conducted an ALICE analysis for Elkhart, LaPorte, Marshall and St. Joseph counties using up-to-date data. The purpose of the updated report is to estimate budgets and thresholds taking into account the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on all aspects of life and specifically the economy in our region. You can view the full report and separate reports for each county below.
Graphics below based on 2020 ALICE Report.