You know ALICE. You see them every day. They are the childcare worker at your daycare, the cashier at your supermarket, aging parents on Social Security, waiters & waitresses, office clerks, and others. They are essential, yet they struggle to survive.
ALICE is Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. They are hardworking people one paycheck away from financial ruin. They live in continuous fear of an unexpected bill that may extend them beyond their already tight budgets.
Wonder what it’s like to live like ALICE? Click here to take an interactive walk-in ALICE’s shoes.
Who is ALICE?
- ALICE is Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed individuals who live and work in our communities.
- They tend to work two or three jobs to make ends meet.
- They earn more than the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), but not enough for the cost of living where they live.
- They are your friends and neighbors.
- ALICE is 47% of Central Florida’s population.
- You are or know someone who is ALICE.
ALICE in Florida
The release of this ALICE Report for Florida comes during an unprecedented crisis — the COVID-19 pandemic. While our world changed significantly in early 2020 with the impact of this global, dual health and economic crisis, ALICE remains central to the story in every U.S. county and state. The pandemic has exposed precisely the issues of financial fragility and widespread hardship that the ALICE data reveals.
While in 2018 the state’s unemployment rate dropped, GDP grew, and wages rose slightly, eight years after the end of the Great Recession, 46% of Florida’s 7,792,605 households were struggling to make ends meet before the global pandemic. Today the effect COVID-19 will have financially on ALICE is going to be severe.
ALICE in Central Florida
Throughout Central Florida, nearly 350,000 households are struggling to make ends meet. According to the 2020 ALICE Report in 2018, in Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties, 46% of families are living on the edge of the fiscal cliff.
Population:
1,380,645
Number of Households:
458,157
Median Household Income:
$58,588 (state average: $55,462)
ALICE Households:
35% (state average: 33%)
Households in Poverty:
14% (state average: 13%)
Population:
367,990
Number of Households:
102,705
Median Household Income:
$50,546 (state average: $55,462)
ALICE Households:
52% (state average: 33%)
Households in Poverty:
12% (state average: 13%)
Population:
467,832
Number of Households:
179,274
Median Household Income:
$67,470 (state average: $55,462)
ALICE Households:
24% (state average: 33%)
Households in Poverty:
9% (state average: 13%)
Learn more about the ALICE finding here.
Resources to Learn More
Heart of Florida United Way works with partners in many ways to empower ALICE households and keep people from falling into poverty. For information about what community resources are available, connect with United Way’s 211 Information and Referral Crisisline by dialing 211, text your zip code to 898-211 or click here to chat with a 211 Specialist.
If you would be interested in having a United Way representative present to your group about ALICE and the findings of this report or to join the ALICE Coalition, click here.
Click here to view the ALICE Project website. You will find statewide ALICE data for Florida and can dive deeper for information on a county-wide level.
