32% of the population in West Tennessee are ALICE and 18.6% live below the ALICE threshold (poverty).
ALICE defines the struggles of households that earn above the Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to afford a bare-bones household budget. ALICE - a United Way acronym which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed - represents the growing number of individuals and families who work every day but are unable to afford to meet their basic needs. The ALICE Report is the most comprehensive depiction of need in Tennessee to date.
Two pillars of the ALICE measures are household costs and income. The Household Survival Budget calculates the cost of household essentials for each county in Tennessee and relies on a wide range of sources for the budget items of housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and a smartphone plan, plus taxes. For household income, the ALICE measures rely on the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). Household costs are compared to household income to determine if households are below the ALICE Threshold. This includes both households in Poverty, with income below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), and those that are ALICE.
After being caught in the crosscurrents of higher wages and costs, diminishing public supports, and other economic forces in 2021, what did 2022 bring for those who are ALICE - families living paycheck to paycheck? United For ALICE recently released their newest report for Tennessee that sheds light on this group's financial struggles one year later. Click here to access the state report. For county-specific reports relevant to West Tennessee, click here.
Through the ALICE Report, we are igniting a movement where nonprofits, corporations, and policymakers Unite to better understand and address the problems faced by West Tennesseans.
