ALICE Project

Introducing ALICE

 In 2024, based on the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), 12% of Florida households were defined as being in poverty. Yet this measure did not account for an additional 34% of the state’s households — nearly three times as many — that were also in financial hardship. These households are ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — earning above the FPL, but not enough to afford basic expenses in the county where they live. 

Combining ALICE households plus those living in poverty, an estimated 47% of households in Florida were below the ALICE Threshold in 2024 (Figure 1). This rate was higher than the national average (41%) and placed Florida 47^th among all states and the District of Columbia (with 1^st representing the lowest rate of hardship).

Households below the ALICE Threshold don’t have enough income to afford their basic needs. They are forced to make impossible choices, like deciding whether to pay for utilities or a tank of gas; whether to buy food or fill a prescription; whether to live close to work and pay more for housing or opt for a longer, more costly commute. And they are less likely to have the resources to cover unexpected household expenses (like an unforeseen car repair or a costly medical bill), or to recover from crises, both widespread (like a natural disaster or public health emergency) and personal (like the loss of a job or family member).

There are households below the ALICE Threshold across demographic groups, living in every state and county in the U.S. These households play a vital role in their communities as neighbors, family members, and civic participants, and they contribute to their local economies as workers, consumers, and taxpayers. Workers in households below the ALICE Threshold perform the jobs that keep our economy functioning smoothly — they are child care providers, food service workers, cashiers, personal care aides, delivery drivers, and more. Yet their own households struggle to afford basics.

There is no single cause — or solution — because all households are unique and the reasons that households face financial hardship are complex and interrelated. Targeted interventions can temporarily help ease challenges like food insecurity or housing cost burden, but improving overall financial stability for the long term requires more comprehensive strategies. Coordinated action is needed across multiple levels — including household supports, community infrastructure, employer practices, and public policy — to address the upstream conditions that contribute to persistent hardship for ALICE households in the state and across the nation.

The Federal Poverty Level (FPL) is obsolete. It does not consider the wide variation in cost of living by location (except for a slightly higher state-level FPL for Alaska and Hawai‘i), nor has its methodology been updated since it was formulated in the 1960s, despite changing economic conditions. As a result, the official poverty rate sharply underestimates the true extent of financial hardship in the U.S. And because the FPL, or multiples of the FPL, define eligibility for many types of public assistance, ALICE households often do not qualify. In 2024, the FPL was $15,060 for a single adult and $31,200 for a family of four.

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