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the true picture of need in local communities and states has been understated and obscured by misleading averages and outdated poverty statistics.”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…
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