ALICE Report
Taylor County ALICE Report
In 2018, the United Way put together the ALICE Report to analyze poverty at the county level. ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, and represents households who’s incomes are above the federal poverty line, but below their local cost of living.
In Taylor County in 2018, only 50% of households were above the ALICE line. While the 2018 federal poverty line was $12,490 for a single person and $25,750 for a family of four, the report revealed that Taylor County’s basic costs of living (including transportation, healthcare, housing, food, taxes, etc.) were $24,276 for a single person and up to $65,580 for a family of four. To reach these basic costs of living, individuals working full-time would need to make at least $12.14 per hour- and even more than that to provide for a family. As of 2018, there were 49,811 households living below the ALICE line, and things have only gotten worse for ALICE families since the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic strain. Black households, ALICE workers, seniors, and families with children all face additional risks and hardships due to the pandemic.
The ALICE Report also breaks down the data by age, household types, and race. The age group with the highest population of people living below the ALICE line is the under-25 group, with that level decreasing between 24-64 and increasing again at 65+. Families with children have significant expenses added, and many are below the ALICE line. Families led by single mothers suffer the highest frequency of poverty, and families with single parents generally are more likely to live below the ALICE line. Taylor County’s Hispanic residents suffer the highest numbers of households living both in poverty and below the ALICE line, followed by Black households. More than half of Taylor County’s Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous households live below the ALICE line.
The ALICE Report is a thorough resource for poverty data at the county level. The website also includes information on the consequences of insufficient household incomes and the impact of the pandemic stimulus packages. We encourage anyone interested in this information to visit unitedforalice.org and search through the data to learn more!