What We Do

ALICE Report 2025

ALL ABOUT ALICE IN 2025

The latest ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) report reveals that the annual cost to make ends meet for a family of four with an infant and a toddler has surged past $100,000 in our region. And that’s just a microcosm of the difficulties facing nearly 660,000 people in our region who live below the ALICE threshold. The new data from United Way Suncoast and its research partner, United For ALICE, crystallizes the dynamics of an uncertain economy, housing expenses, and the failure of wages to keep pace with the cost of living. Clearly, the challenges continue to mount for Florida households living paycheck to paycheck. But United Way Suncoast’s focus on Educational Opportunity, Financial Security and Community Resiliency creates an interconnected path that empowers individuals with the Freedom To Rise. Visit http://www.unitedforalice.org/florida to learn more about the report. Sign up for an ALICE presentation to the right, and check out our new additions to this page.

WE TALK ALICE

Would you like someone from United Way Suncoast to give an ALICE presentation to your organization?

ALICE IN THE LABOR FORCE

ALICE keeps our economy running but still can’t afford the basics. In 2023, 13 of the 20 most common jobs in Florida paid less than $20/hour – which is less than $40,000 a year if full-time. So, it’s no surprise that 36% of workers in these 20 jobs couldn’t make ends meet. Click here to learn more about how workers below the ALICE Threshold in our state serve as the reservoir for the labor force but face more economic risk and fewer job protections.

Indicators of Well-Being

What are the ancillary factors that impact the challenges facing ALICE families. This new tool can help you track the relationships between ALICE households and other variables across Florida and at the county level. From Internet Access to Adults 65+ Living Alone to Disconnected Youth and Teen Birth Rate, click here to learn about 50 different indicators shaping how your neighbors deal with living below the ALICE threshold.

New ALICE Report: Survival Budget Surges Past $100K

Learn more about why United Way Suncoast believes it’s important to continue raising awareness about the challenges facing ALICE families.

WHO IS ALICE?

  • Of Florida’s 8,944,469 households, 13% earned below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
  • 34% were ALICE in households that earned above the FPL but not enough to afford the basics in the communities where they live
  • Together, 47% of households in Florida were below the ALICE threshold (poverty + ALICE divided by total households)

FREEDOM TO RISE PODCAST

When we delve into the topic of affordable and workforce housing in this state, issues pop up like dollar weed on a Florida lawn. What can be done to address an issue that weighs on our economy and weakens our labor force? On this episode of the Freedom To Rise podcast, we talk to Kody Glazer, the Florida Housing Coalition’s Chief Legal and Policy Director, about this pressing state issue.

NEW TO THE ALICE PAGE

Check Out The New Elements We Added To The Page

ALICE Economic Viability Dashboard

Created by United For ALICE, the new ALICE Economic Viability Dashboard reveals the impact of economic and community conditions on people living in households below the ALICE Threshold. These households are either in poverty or are ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) — earning above the poverty level but less than the cost of basics. With more than 30 new ALICE variables on work, housing, and community supports, this Dashboard provides a way to explore needs and pair them with promising practices — empowering us to develop targeted solutions for households in hardship.

Community Conditions Tracker

This interactive map that allows users to examine the conditions in specific zip codes including:

  • Percentage of households living below the ALICE threshold
  • Avg. Rent Cost
  • Median Household Income
  • Avg. Household Income

We Are ALICE: A Community Crisis Forum

46% of all homes in our 5-county footprint are ALICE or under the federal poverty line.

Who is ALICE?

  • Florida: 8.8 million households 
    (21.2 million people), 

  • 13% earned below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)

  • 33% were ALICE, in households that earned above the FPL but not enough to afford the basics in the communities where they live

  • Together, 46% of households in Florida were below the ALICE Threshold (poverty + ALICE divided by total households)

Who is ALICE?

  • Florida: 8.8 million households 
    (21.2 million people), 

  • 13% earned below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)

  • 33% were ALICE, in households that earned above the FPL but not enough to afford the basics in the communities where they live

  • Together, 46% of households in Florida were below the ALICE Threshold (poverty + ALICE divided by total households)

What We Do To Help ALICE Families

UWS Investment Partnership Results

  • Workforce Development Programs – almost every measure is at or above the yearly goal in the 3rd quarter
  • Supporting community partners to increase job attainment and income through:
    • +1,400 people placed in jobs or given a promotion/raise – nearly double the goal
    • +500 people in progress earning certificates or higher education degrees
    • Assisted almost 4,000 people in applying for benefits applications to provide additional support to themselves and their families
    • +500 middle school students exposed to post-secondary education or career options that align with their interests

UWS Community Collaborations

  • New summer youth workforce program in partnership with Career Source
  • Increase in Resource Center partner collaboration through topic-focused workgroups
  • Building on a successful winter holiday meal distribution event, our team expanded this partnership to include an Easter meal distribution
  • Connection of Preserve Vision with our Quality Childcare Initiative sites, which led to 86 children being vision screened and 14 referred to receive glasses
  • Convening food providers with summer educational programming to ensure students have nutritious food available during the summer
  • Connecting early learning centers to paid trainings through the Early Learning Coalitions
  • Creation of interactive learning trails at four parks in Pinellas County
  • Increasing literacy through arts by collaborating with the Van Wezel Summer Resident Program to support over 150 children

Give Today!

The 2023 ALICE Report revealed that a family of four with an infant and a preschooler needs $88,000 to live comfortably. Don’t let the word “comfortably” deceive you. Comfortably means being able to go to the doctor without feeling anxious about the cost. Comfortably means being able to contribute towards your retirement and buy groceries. It’s not luxury, it’s stability. At United Way Suncoast we partner with families and work together to help them reach that stability, but we can’t do it alone. Give today and help United Way Suncoast create a community that will give every family the freedom to rise.