ALICE Working Families

ALICE IS 42% OF US.

Co-workers. Neighbors. Caregivers. Service Providers. Working hard every day - and still falling short. 

And they can't wait. At United Way of the Ocoee Region, we're turning data into action for the families who keep our community running.

Who is ALICE?

ALICE is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. 

The ALICE population is made up of working families earning just above the poverty level, but still living paycheck to paycheck, often one crisis or unexpected circumstance away from a spiral into poverty. These struggling households are forced to make impossible choices everyday between the basics of housing, childcare, food, transportation, healthcare and more. ALICE households are a target population for the United Way’s funding and internal programming. With your support, we can help these families reach stability.

Local ALICE Statistics

While conditions have improved for some families, many continue to struggle, especially as wages fail to keep pace with the rising cost of household essentials, such as housing, child care, food, transportation, and health care. Households below the ALICE threshold, in addition to those in poverty, often can't afford the essentials.

• ALICE families collectively represent 42% of the Ocoee Region's population ... essentially 2 in 5 local households at at ALICE level or below. This number is more concentrated in certain areas and populations. For example, an average of 78.5% of single female-headed households in the Ocoee Region are ALICE or below.

• Single-parent households face disproportionate financial hardship. More than 3 in 4 (77%) single-parent households in Bradley County live below the ALICE Threshold, meaning they are either living in poverty or are working but still unable to afford basic household expenses.

• Bradley County families making the median household income ($61,107) spent 40% of their monthly income last year on childcare costs alone, a significant 13% increase from the previous year.

• Young adults and older adults are among the most financially vulnerable. Across the Ocoee Region, nearly 72% of households headed by someone under age 25 and 50% of households headed by someone age 65 or older fall below the ALICE Threshold.

• Among the 10 largest industry sectors (by total workers) in Tennessee, financial hardship was highest in Accommodation and Food Services, with 40% of workers living in households below the ALICE threshold. By occupation, rates of financial hardship were as high as 51% for Cooks and 50% for Cashiers, two of the most common occupations in the state.

• Survival budget for a family of four in Bradley County is $83,652, an increase of nearly $19,000 in just a three year period. A Household Stability Budget, which includes long-term financial security measures such as a 10% savings category, rises to $122,988 per year.

• The median household income in the Ocoee Region is $67,488, a gap of over $16,000 for a family of four to cover the cost of their most basic monthly expenses.

• ALICE families commonly lack access to affordable housing, quality childcare and other resources and are often severely rent burdened, spending a third or more of their income on rent alone.