These households are ALICE: Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed.
ALICE households earn above the Federal Poverty Level but are unable to afford the cost of basics including housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and technology. Unlike the Federal Poverty Line and Consumer Price Index, the ALICE threshold is based on the local prices of essentials that low-income households prioritize.
We all know people who experience these struggles. They are our elderly neighbors, the cashiers at our favorite grocery stores, and the professionals who care for our toddlers and our aging parents -- if we aren't ALICE ourselves.
They are the reason United Way of Southeast Minnesota is working alongside our partners and community to close the gap between financial hardship and financial stability so that every family, in every ZIP code, has an equal opportunity to thrive.
When our ALICE neighbors move from merely surviving to thriving, our entire community wins.
United Way Service Area
The ALICE Survival Budget is the bare minimum income needed to meet basic needs.
The Olmsted County 2022 ALICE Survival Budget is $89,952 for a family of four (two parents and two children). Below is a sample of the ALICE essentials index which lists local prices of essential goods and services.
Information about Survival Budgets for other family structures and Survival Budgets in Dodge, Fillmore, and Winona Counties can be found on the ALICE website.
Thank you to the First Alliance Credit Union Foundation for supporting United Way of Southeast Minnesota's ALICE launch.
