ALICE

Working hard but struggling to get by. That's ALICE.

We all know people who are ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — earning more than the Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to afford the basics where they live.

ALICE households and households in poverty are forced to make tough choices, such as deciding between quality child care or paying the rent — choices that have long-term consequences not only for their families, but for all. When funds run short, cash-strapped households are forced to make impossible choices. Deciding between quality child care or paying the rent. Filling a prescription or fixing the car. These short-term decisions have long-term consequences not only for ALICE families, but for all of us.

Help ALICE families build a better future.


 

Nearly half of the households (45%) in our community struggle to afford the basic necessities of housing, child care, food, technology, health care, and transportation.

Terminology: 

ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — households that earn above the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) but cannot afford the basic cost of living in their county. Despite struggling to make ends meet, ALICE households often do not qualify for public assistance.

ALICE Household Survival Budget: Reflects the minimum costs of household necessities in Michigan (housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and technology) plus taxes, adjusted for different counties and household types.

ALICE Threshold of Financial Survival: Derived from the Household Survival Budget, the minimum average income that a household needs to afford basic costs, calculated for all U.S. counties.

Below ALICE Threshold: Includes households in poverty and ALICE households combined.

ALICE Essentials Index: A measure of the average change over time in the costs of essential goods and services. 

County Level Data: 

2022 Point In Time Data: 

Population: 176,565 | Number of Households: 67,255 | Household Size Average: 2.6

Median Household Income: $58,074 (State Average: $66,986)

Labor Force Participation: 59.3% (State Average: 61.6%)

ALICE Households: 31% (State Average: 28%) | Households in Poverty: 14% (State Average: 13%) 


Muskegon County Towns From Highest Population Below the ALICE Threshold to Least

  1. City of Muskegon Heights | 71% Below ALICE | 2,564 Households
  2. City of Muskegon | 62% Below ALICE | 8,859 Households 
  3. Muskegon Charter Township | 48% Below ALICE | 3,348 Households
  4. Sullivan Township | 47% Below ALICE | 492 Households
  5. Egelston Township | 44% Below ALICE | 1,723 Households
  6. Roosevelt Park City | 43% Below ALICE | 781 Households
  7. City of Whitehall | 43% Below ALICE | 458 Households 
  8. Holton Township | 41% Below ALICE | 382 Households 
  9. Cedar Creek Township |  39% Below ALICE | 498 Households 
  10. Ravenna Township | 39% Below ALICE | 407 Households
  11. Mooreland Township | 37% Below ALICE | 203 Households
  12. Blue Lake Township | 36% Below ALICE | 301 Households
  13. City of Montague | 36% Below ALICE | 354 Households 
  14. City of Norton Shores | 35% Below ALICE | 3,351 Households 
  15. Casnovia Township | 34% Below ALICE | 316 Households 
  16. Fruitport Charter Township | 33% Below ALICE | 1,777 Households
  17. Dalton Township | 29% Below ALICE | 1,028 Households
  18. Fruitland Township | 29% Below ALICE | 740 Households
  19. Montague Township | 25% Below ALICE | 149 Households
  20. City of North Muskegon | 24% Below ALICE | 379 Households
  21. Laketon Township | 23% Below ALICE | 682 Households 
  22. White River Township | 18% Below ALICE | 92 Households

Municipal-Level data on this is a 5-year average for Census County Subdivisions. Data for counties with populations over 65,000 is 1-year estimates. Geographies with fewer than 100 households are not included. Therefore, totals will not match the county-level numbers. 

2022 Point In Time Data: 

Population: 50,130 | Number of Households: 19,047 | Household Size Average: 2.6

Median Household Income: $59,065 (State Average: $66,986)

Labor Force Participation: 56% (State Average: 61.6%)

ALICE Households: 31% (State Average: 28%) | Households in Poverty: 14% (State Average: 13%) 


Newaygo County Towns Ranked From Highest Population Under the ALICE Threshold to the Least 

  1. Merrill Township | 69% Below ALICE | 150 Households
  2. Denver Township | 63% Below ALICE | 547 Households
  3. Home Township | 58% Below ALICE | 74
  4. Newaygo City | 57% Below ALICE | 545 Households
  5. White Cloud City | 57% Below ALICE | 228 Households
  6. Grant City | 56% Below ALICE | 255 Households
  7. Monroe Township | 56% Below ALICE | 73 Households
  8. Big Prairie Township | 54% Below ALICE | 544 Households
  9. Lilley Township | 54% Below ALICE | 193 Households 
  10. Everett Township | 52% Below ALICE | 373 Households
  11. Beaver Township | 50% Below ALICE | 97 Households
  12. Fremont City | 50% Below ALICE | 892 Households
  13. Sherman Township | 48% Below ALICE | 412 Households
  14. Goodwell Township | 45% Below ALICE | 76 Households
  15. Bridgeton Township | 43% Below ALICE | 372 Households
  16. Croton Township | 39% Below ALICE | 454 Households 
  17. Barton Township | 38% Below ALICE | 114 Households 
  18. Grant Township | 38% Below ALICE | 478 Households
  19. Brooks Township | 37% Below ALICE | 565 Households
  20. Garfield Township | 37% Below ALICE | 309 Households
  21. Sheridan Charter Township | 36% Below ALICE | 332 Households
  22. Ensley Township | 35% Below ALICE | 340 Households
  23. Dayton Township | 33% Below ALICE | 240 Households
  24. Ashland Township | 32% Below ALICE | 302 Households
  25. Norwich Township | 28% Below ALICE | 73 Households

Municipal-Level data on this is a 5-year average for Census County Subdivisions. Data for counties with populations over 65,000 is 1-year estimates. Geographies with fewer than 100 households are not included. Therefore, totals will not match the county-level numbers. 

2022 Point In Time Data: 

Population: 26,707 | Number of Households: 9,936 | Household Size Average: 2.6

Median Household Income: $60,697 (State Average: $66,986)

Labor Force Participation: 55.9% (State Average: 61.6%)

ALICE Households: 33% (State Average: 28%) | Households in Poverty: 12% (State Average: 13%) 


Oceana County Towns From Highest Population Below the ALICE Threshold to Least

  1. Leavitt Township | 63% Below ALICE | 209 Households
  2. Greenwood Township | 57% Below ALICE | 242 Households
  3. Grant Township | 52% Below ALICE | 501 Households
  4. Crystal Township | 51% Below ALICE | 122 Households
  5. Hart City | 50% Below ALICE | 388
  6. Hart Township | 48% Below ALICE | 369 Households
  7. Weare Township | 48% Below ALICE | 216 Households
  8.  Ferry Township | 47% Below ALICE | 216
  9. Colfax Township | 46% Below ALICE | 78 Households
  10. Golden Township | 45% Below ALICE | 358 Households
  11. Claybanks Township | 42% Below ALICE | 145 Households 
  12. Elbridge Township | 42% Below ALICE | 147 Households
  13. Newfield Township | 42% Below ALICE | 344 Households
  14. Benona Township | 40% Below ALICE | 239 Households
  15. Shelby Township | 40% Below ALICE | 576 Households
  16. Otto Township | 38% Below ALICE | 100 Households 
  17. Pentwater Township | 30% Below ALICE | 222 Households

Municipal-Level data on this is a 5-year average for Census County Subdivisions. Data for counties with populations over 65,000 is 1-year estimates. Geographies with fewer than 100 households are not included. Therefore, totals will not match the county-level numbers.

Household Costs, Public Assistance, And Wages

Financial hardship among Michigan households shifted from 2021 to 2022 based primarily on three factors:

Costs:

From 2021 to 2022, the ALICE Household Survival Budget for a single adult in Michigan increased from $25,932 to $27,372, well above the FPL of $13,590. For a family of four with an infant and a preschooler, the budget (including tax credits) increased from $59,016 to $73,488, well above the FPL of $27,750. Before tax credits, costs for a family of four totaled $78,684 in 2022, up from $72,792 in 2021. (More data on inflation is available in the ALICE Essentials Index June 2024 Update.)

Public assistance:

Pandemic assistance had the most pronounced effects on families with children. The Economic Impact Payments and the expansions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) helped many ALICE families through 2021. But this assistance was substantially reduced when the 2021 American Rescue Plan expired, stimulus payments ended, and tax credits reverted to 2020 levels. In 2022, a family of four with an infant and a preschooler in Michigan was eligible for approximately $15,000 less in maximum federal tax credits and stimulus payments than in 2021.

Wages:

As pandemic assistance wound down, wages increased for most low-wage jobs. For example, median retail sales wages in Michigan increased from $13.81 per hour in 2021 to $14.38 per hour in 2022.