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ALICE REPORT: A STUDY OF FINANCIAL HARDSHIP IN MARYLAND

ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.

ALICE is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. The earnings of Maryland ALICE individuals and families are not enough to support a “survival budget” for life’s essentials: food, housing, healthcare, childcare, transportation, taxes, and technology.

The latest ALICE Report reveals that 39% of households can’t afford the state’s high cost of living. This percentage, based on 2018 data, is clearly higher in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating economic impact on our residents.

This report has also helped to inform further research into the benefits cliff—a term used to describe the loss of public benefits resulting from small increases in earned income.

Read the interactive ALICE Report

Download the ALICE Report 

Additional research reveals that as ALICE families supply more effort to lift themselves up the economic ladder, they suffer a loss in public benefits (the benefits cliff), resulting in perverse incentives and a lack of gainful reward despite their greater contributions to the economy and our shared well-being.

Read the Benefits Cliff Study

United Way of Central Maryland partnered with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond to launch its Career Ladder Identifier and Financial Forecaster (CLIFF) Dashboard to help Marylanders make informed career decisions to overcome the benefits cliff.

Try the CLIFF Dashboard

COVID-19 IMPACT SURVEY

From March 15, to April 12, 2021, people living in Maryland were invited to take a survey about how their household has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic since March 1, 2020.

Read the Results Report 

ALICE REPRESENTS OUR HARDWORKING NEIGHBORS IN NEED.

ALICE holds positions such as cashiers, administrative and nursing assistants, waiters/waitresses, laborers and security guards and jobs in the retail and food industries. Essential to our economy, they can’t afford the essentials. 
 

 

 

WHAT DOES IT COST TO AFFORD THE BASICS?
Household Size
2 Adults, 2 Children

1 Individual
Alice Survival Budget
$87,156

$33,636
Federal Poverty Level
$25,100

$12,140

The Realities of Inequity

Watch the recordings from United Way’s Realities of Inequity: An impactful series that examines what’s preventing hardworking people from getting ahead; what United Way, our partners, and other local leaders are doing to help—and what you can do to break down barriers to inequity.

WATCH OUR SESSIONS

 

 

WHO IS ALICE?
39%
of Marylanders can’t afford the basics
$87,156
Survival Budget for family of 4
$24,440
Annual salary, minimum wage job

 

The ALICE Report and Benefits Cliff Study are made possible by corporate partner, Kaiser Permanente.

kaiser permanente logo

The ALICE Report and Benefits Cliff Study are made possible by corporate sponsor, Kaiser Permanente. Kaiser Permanente is recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. Our belief that economic and environmental factors drive total health leads us to invest in approaches that have health, economic and social impacts and promote wellbeing for our members and communities, particularly those experiencing inequities and injustice. https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/

united for Alice logo

United For ALICE is a grassroots movement of nearly 650 United Ways in 21 states, corporations, and foundations, all using the same methodology to document financial need. ALICE Reports provide county-by-county and town-level data, and analysis of how many households are struggling, including the obstacles ALICE households face on the road to financial independence.