About ALICE
Would you pay the rent or buy groceries? Fill your gas tank or get a critical prescription? Learn about difficult decisions made by households in United Way’s 2024 ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) Report.
The report reveals that 1 in 3 Maryland households struggle to pay for the basics, living as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed).
Every day, people whose earnings can’t keep pace with the cost of living are forced to make impossible decisions. They often earn too much to qualify for government benefits, but not enough to support a “survival budget” for life’s essentials, like food, housing, healthcare, childcare, and transportation.
ALICE workers are cashiers, fast food workers and restaurant staff, drivers and warehouse workers, health aides, office staff, and more—many in low-wage jobs, with little or no savings and only one emergency away from poverty.
While pandemic job disruptions and inflation delivered serious financial pain, a combination of government support and rising wages did help blunt what could’ve been a deeper financial crisis. But as benefits are peeled back and inflation persists, signs of greater economic stress are on the horizon for ALICE households.
39% of Maryland households can’t afford the state’s high cost of living. The 2024 report provides a staggering look at the extent of financial hardship in Maryland.
Policy change is a powerful way to break down longstanding barriers and strengthen lives, communities, and our economy. As we approach the 2024 election, it is crucial for voters to be aware of ALICE issues and consider the needs of ALICE households—which affect us all—at the ballot box.
Want an easy way to stay informed on the issues and directly contact your elected officials? Make your voice heard and take action today!
Join our advocacy platform that educates and mobilizes supporters, and does the work of reaching out to policy makers for you!
UNITED, we can help improve the financial security and well-being of Maryland households that struggle to make ends meet.
What does it cost to afford the basics?
Household Size
ALICE Survival Budget
Federal Poverty Level
Single Adult
$36,420
$13,590
Family of Four
$95,772
$27,750
Employment
Improved pay and job prospects were helpful but insufficient to counter years of financial strain from rising basic costs. Essential goods outpaced wages for over a decade, further burdening ALICE households. In Maryland, 11 of the 20 most common jobs pay under $20/hour. ALICE workers primarily hold roles like general and operations managers, retail salespersons, cashiers, driver/sales workers and truck drivers, and fast food and counter workers.
Public Assistance
Pandemic assistance had the most pronounced effects on families with children. Stimulus payments and expanded federal tax credits helped many ALICE families through 2021, but this assistance substantially decreased by 2022.
Realities of Inequity
This series, featuring various local leaders, focuses on barriers to economic, health, and racial equity revealed in our ALICE Report. Watch the sessions here.
ALICE Report Sponsors
The ALICE Report for Maryland was sponsored by:
United For ALICE
United For ALICE fosters innovation, research, and action nationwide to support ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) individuals and communities. By developing ALICE measurements, we offer an unbiased view of financial hardship. With this data, we collaborate on solutions for financial stability at all levels. We’re a grassroots movement of United Ways in 28 states, along with corporations and foundations, using a unified methodology to document financial needs.
Read the ALICE Reports
This includes the ALICE Essentials Index, which tracks the cost of essentials over time; special reports on children, veterans, people with disabilities, and more.
