WHO IS ALICE?

Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed

ALICE represents individuals and households who earn just above the Federal Poverty Level but less than what it costs to make ends meet. ALICE workers often struggle to keep their own households from financial ruin while keeping our communities running.

ALICE in Action

The United For ALICE project provides a comprehensive and unbiased picture of financial hardship in Wisconsin. Our partners use the ALICE measures to highlight the challenges ALICE households face to inspire action and generate innovative solutions that promote financial stability. These programs, practices, and policies improve access to affordable housing, high quality child care and education, healthy food, health care, transportation, workforce training, and more.

The ALICE in Action website provides examples of how United Ways, foundations, academic institutions, businesses, and other partners across sectors are turning data into action to make a difference for ALICE in their communities.

2024 ALICE Reports

ALICE in the Crosscurrents: 2024 Update

In 2022, financial hardship in Wisconsin continued to be shaped by the conflicting economic forces of the pandemic, and remained substantially undercounted by official measures. These powerful crosscurrents — COVID-19, inflation, wage growth, and the expansion and expiration of pandemic public assistance — impacted how many Wisconsin households were below the ALICE Threshold of Financial Survival.  Between 2021 and 2022, the number of households in poverty in Wisconsin and the number of ALICE households increased, continuing a more than decade-long trend in the growth of this population. In 2022, 35% of Wisconsin Households were below the ALICE Threshold.

Explore the Data Dashboard:

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ALICE Essentials Index (2024)

Tracking changes in the cost of basics, the ALICE Essentials Index has consistently outpaced the broader CPI nationwide since 2007. Costs for both measures increased at a faster pace following the COVID-19 pandemic, peaking between 2021 and 2023. During this period, the ALICE Essentials Index increased at an annual rate of 7.3% compared to 6.1% for CPI — both much faster than the annual rates from 2007 to 2010 (3.3% annual increase for the ALICE Essentials Index and 1.7% for CPI).

In Wisconsin, the ALICE Essentials Index also tended to increase faster than CPI, as shown in the figure below. And like the national trend, costs in Wisconsin increased at a faster rate following the COVID-19 pandemic (7.3% annual increase in the ALICE Essentials Index from 2021 to 2023).

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ALICE Economic Viability Dashboard (2024)

There is no silver bullet for achieving financial stability. Instead, there are three pillars: Workers need jobs with livable wages, near housing they can afford, in communities that offer resources and supports. Now, United For ALICE has developed the ALICE Economic Viability Dashboard — a new mapping tool that shows at state and local levels whether the conditions in these three key areas strengthen or weaken opportunities for ALICE to reach stability. Two years in the making, the Dashboard can help community planners, housing experts, policymakers, and business leaders design jobs and infrastructure that tackle the obstacles keeping ALICE trapped. The Dashboard also zeroes in on promising practices around the country that are showing positive results. 

Explore the Data Dashboard:

2023 ALICE Reports

ALICE in the Crosscurrents: COVID and Financial Hardship in Wisconsin

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ALICE Essentials Index (2023)

The ALICE Essentials Index measures change over time in the cost of the essentials that matter most to households below the ALICE Threshold: housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and a smartphone plan. The ALICE Essentials Index in Wisconsin (2.9% average annual increase from 2007 to 2023) outpaced the rate of increase for the national CPI (2.5% average annual increase). 

ALICE in Focus Series

ALICE in Focus: Veterans

On November 11, 2022, United For ALICE released the ALICE in Focus: Veterans  report, showing how of the 303,536 total veterans in Wisconsin, 21% struggled to afford basics in 2019, just before the pandemic hit. The new report and  interactive tools reveal that federal poverty data undercounts how many veterans in Wisconsin face financial insecurity.

ALICE in Focus: People with Disabilities

ALICE in Focus: Children

On April 4, 2022,  United For ALICE release the ALICE in Focus: Children report, showing 38% of Wisconsin's Children lived in financial hardship pre-pandemic. The new report and  interactive tools reveal that federal poverty data undercounts how many children are growing up amid financial insecurity.

Other Resources

How to Help ALICE

The first step to helping ALICE is understanding who ALICE, reading the report and sharing with your networks. Local United Ways across the state of Wisconsin are committed to improving the lives of ALICE families and those in poverty by promoting resources for health, education, and financial stability. Addressing these issues will not only help advance the quality of life for those suffering from continued financial hardship, but also uplift communities. Help right now:

• Share the Wisconsin ALICE Reports or data dashboards (found on this page) on Facebook and Twitter
• Find your Local United Way to make a gift or get involved.

What is United For ALICE?

United For ALICE represents a grassroots movement to raise awareness about an essential but previously hidden part of our community. Through a framework of new language and measures, stakeholders can better understand and ultimately implement changes that improve the lives of ALICE. With more than four in ten households in the United States trying to manage their household with an income that falls short of covering their basic necessities, many policies and programs must be reassessed or even reconsidered. Learn more at www.UnitedForALICE.org.