A Spotlight on Key ALICE Groups
Since 2009, United For ALICE has shed light on the everyday struggles of households that are ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). The ALICE in Focus Research Series takes this data to a new level, spotlighting the struggles of people in specific ALICE populations, including children, people with disabilities, and military veterans.
The ALICE in Focus dashboards and research briefs allow you to break down the data on these groups by race/ethnicity, disability status, living arrangements, number of workers in the household, and much more. It's a new lens on specific populations in financial hardship — with a level of detail that can help drive meaningful change.
Here is a glimpse at ALICE in Focus in Idaho.
Key Terms
- ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed - households that earn above the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) but cannot afford the basic cost of living in their county. While the FPL for a family of four in 2019 was $25,750, the average bare-minimum cost of living for a family in Idaho according to the ALICE Household Survival Budget was just over $63,000. Despite struggling to make ends meet, ALICE households often do not qualify for public assistance.
- ALICE Threshold: Derived from the Household Survival Budget, the average income that a household needs to afford housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and a smartphone plan, plus taxes. Calculated for various household types for every U.S. state and county.
- Below ALICE Threshold: Includes people in poverty-level and ALICE households combined.
- People with Disabilities: People with one or more of the disabilities listed on the associated focus page.
- Veteran: A person who is not on active duty with the U.S. military but was in the past. This does not include people who were only on active duty for training in the Reserves/National Guard.