Almost a third of Americans are falling through the cracks of the US economy. Here's how to know if you're one of them.
These households face an economic predicament: They earn too much money to receive most government assistance, but they're still barely getting by.
That can look different, depending on a family's circumstances. It might be an income of $130,000 for a family of six near St. Louis or $25,000 for a family of three in Michigan.
These families are part of a group economists call ALICE, or asset-limited, income-constrained and employed. The latest figures from United For ALICE, shared exclusively with Business Insider, reveal that, from 2021 to 2022, the number of ALICE households rose by nearly 1.6 million. That means at least 29% of households in the US are considered ALICE.
This compares to 13% of Americans who live at or below the federal poverty line, which is $31,200 a year for a family of four. Created in the 1960s, the poverty line is determined solely by household income and is not adjusted based on a family's circumstances, location, or cost of living. Still, government assistance programs that use the metric to assess need are leaving out a large swatch of the population.
Because ALICE households tend to live just above the poverty threshold — sometimes by less than $100 — they aren't covered by America's safety nets. Many live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to afford necessities like rent, groceries, transportation, and healthcare. Families have told BI that their financial situation has forced them to make tough decisions, like choosing between paying their electricity bill or their rent.
"I'm not homeless enough to get certain help because I have a roof over my head," an ALICE woman living in Wilmington, North Carolina, previously told BI. "But I'm too homeless to get a job because I don't know where I'm going to live in three weeks. What do you do?"
United For ALICE's criteria depend on four main factors: a household's location, size, estimated survival budget, and access to government assistance.
If you live above the poverty threshold but are unable to cover all expenses in your survival budget, you're probably an ALICE.
Demographically, ALICE Americans are more prevalent across some generations and professions.
With the cost of living rising across the US, United for ALICE predicts more families to become ALICE over time. The end of pandemic-era assistance has also made it more difficult for ALICE families to recover from financial hardship.
Do you live above the federal poverty line but struggle to afford daily expenses? Are you open to sharing your story? If so, reach out to these reporters at allisonkelly@businessinsider.com, nsheidlower@businessinsider.com, and jkaplan@businessinsider.com.