Survival budget in Georgia well above Federal Poverty Level, research shows

Out of the 3.95 million households in Georgia, 34% of Georgians are ALICE—Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed—living under the threshold of financial survival based on the state’s 2021 cost of living data, according to the ALICE Report released last month by the United Ways of Georgia State Association. When combining those households with the 530,000 families living in poverty, 47% of Georgia households live below the ALICE threshold.

The report was released in partnership with United for ALICE, a grassroots movement of United Ways, corporations, nonprofits, and foundations in more than half the United States, all using the same methodology to document financial need. United Ways of Georgia (UWGA), an association composed of the 31 United Way organizations operating in Georgia, including United Way of Greater Atlanta, have collectively invested to become the 29th state organization to participate.

“This report provides the objective data that explains why so many residents are struggling to survive and the challenges they face in attempting to make ends meet,” says the report’s lead researcher, United for ALICE National Director Stephanie Hoopes, Ph.D. “Until now, the true picture of need in local communities and states has been understated and obscured by misleading averages and outdated poverty statistics.”

With Georgia Credit Union Association as its presenting sponsor, ALICE in Georgia: A Study of Financial Hardship places a spotlight on a large population of hardworking families who are employed, living paycheck to paycheck and one unexpected expense away from financial crisis. The report, which is the most comprehensive depiction of financial need in the state to date, uses the latest data from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Census, to unveil new measures based on 2021 income levels and expenses that quantify how many families in Georgia are working but still struggling financially. 

“We all know ALICE,” says Michael Smith, President and CEO of Greater Valdosta United Way and Chair of United Ways of Georgia State Association. “ALICE is the recent college graduate unable to afford to live on their own, the young family strapped by childcare costs, the mid-career professional who is underemployed. These folks are vital to our state’s future economic well-being, and they face barriers beyond their control, preventing their ability to become financially stable.”

The ALICE report also revealed:

• The ALICE Household Survival Budget for a Georgia family of four in 2021 was $61,164, well above the Federal Poverty Line at $26,500. 
• Of Georgia’s 20 most common occupations, 65% paid less than $20 per hour in 2021. 
• The top five occupations with the highest percentage of workers below the ALICE Threshold in Georgia were cooks, cashiers, stockers and order fillers, waiters, and fast-food workers.
• Only 23% of people age 16 and over had the security of a full-time job with salary.
• There is a shortage of 200,000 affordable rental units at or below 30% of the area median income in Georgia.

This economic snapshot of ALICE households provides a common language, deeper understanding, and tools for our state to better assist these households in moving forward economically. The report will give United Ways across Georgia the needed data to help better innovate and collaborate for solutions with government, businesses, and community nonprofits across our state. 

As one of 31 United Ways operating in Georgia, United Way of Greater Atlanta is using the latest ALICE data in tandem with their 2023 Child Well-Being Outlook: Insights for Impact Report to maximize understanding of the community they serve. Together, the two resources provide an unprecedented snapshot of both the causes and impacts of economic struggle in metro Atlanta.For more information and addition data about ALICE in local communities across the state, visit United Ways of Georgia website at unitedwayga.org

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