ALICE represents the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed families and individuals who live and work in the Tri-County.
ALICE families make more than the Federal Poverty Level but fall below the ALICE Threshold. That threshold is an income at which individuals and families are able to afford their basic needs. The ALICE Threshold is based on budgets that include costs for everyday essentials like housing, transportation, food and child care.
Read the interactive ALICE Report
Download the 2023 South Carolina ALICE Report
Request more information on ALICE and learn how you can make an impact
You may already know ALICE as a friend, a neighbor, a child's daycare teacher, a restaurant server or a receptionist at a doctor's office. In the Tri-County community, 4 of out of 10 households fall below the ALICE threshold.
Although fully employed with essential jobs that keep our communities running, ALICE workers don't earn enough to cover the rising costs of living, leaving them and their families perpetually teetering on the edge of poverty.
Nearly 128,000 households (40%) live below the ALICE threshold
Federal Poverty Level 4-person household under $30,000 annual income
Estimated Survival Budget 4-person household under $60,000 annual income
Above the ALICE Threshold 4-person household over $60,000 annual income
Source: State-Level Details, ALICE Report, 2021
Key Terms
Household Survival Budget: The bare-minimum costs of basic necessities (housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and a smartphone plan).
ALICE Threshold: The average income needed to afford the Household Survival Budget. Households below the ALICE Threshold include both ALICE and poverty-level households.
ALICE: Households with income above the Federal Poverty Level but below the basic cost of living.
Poverty: Households earning below the Federal Poverty Level
Total Households: The number of households as reported by the American Community Survey.
ALICE Economic Viability Dashboard
The Economic Viability Dashboard reveals whether the conditions in three key areas — work, housing, and community supports — strengthen or weaken opportunities for households below the ALICE Threshold to reach stability.
With more than 30 new ALICE variables, this Dashboard spotlights needs and pairs them with promising practices — paving the way for targeted solutions for these households.
From Hardship to Stability - ALICE Economic Viability Fact Sheets
United for ALICE 101
Watch the 2023 South Carolina ALICE Report Launch
How Trident United Way is helping ALICE
Trident United Way is paving the way to financial stability for ALICE individuals and families. With our expansive network of nonprofit partners, volunteers and donors, we connect ALICE to immediate support and assistance programs that open opportunities for longterm change.
Editorial: Welcome spotlight on a challenge facing many South Carolinians The Post and Courier, November 7
Households seem to never get ahead. We aim to change that. The Post and Courier, November 2
Study: In 43 percent of SC households a ‘survival budget’ is out of reach The Post and Courier, November 2
Nearly half of SC residents struggle to afford basic necessities, data shows Live 5 News, November 2
Are you ALICE?
If you are an ALICE family, or you know someone who is, Trident United Way has resources that can offer support or you can connect with the 2-1-1 Helpline, which provides information about and referral to health and human service resources. The service is available 24/7, 365 days per year. It is FREE and CONFIDENTIAL.
Informed for ALICE
Local media stories highlighting ALICE families in our community
Rising rents, less aid fuel sharp eviction increase
SC’s cities ranked amid rapid growth
Business leaders warn that affordable child care shortage threat to economy
More people are working multiple jobs, Labor Dept. says
The Post and Courier: Priced Out
Trident United Way President & CEO speaks about ALICE and State of Our Families
Learn more about the ALICE experience
The Calls for Help Coming From Above the Poverty Line
Why more middle-class Americans are defining themselves as working class
We can agree that no one in this country should go hungry. Can that help unite America?
Think child care is hard to find now? Wait a couple of months.
Netflix: Maid based on Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive
The Scarcity Trap: Why We Keep Digging When We're Stuck In A Hole
Race, poverty, and access to wellbeing in America
USDA Economic Research Service: Food Security and Nutrition Assistance
Learn more about ALICE at unitedforALICE.org.
Interested in learning more about ALICE in the Tri-County region and how you can make an impact?
Complete the form below and someone from the Trident United Way team will connect with you.
United For ALICE is a U.S. research organization driving innovation, research and action to improve life across the country for ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) and for all. Through the development of the ALICE measurements, a comprehensive, unbiased picture of financial hardship has emerged. Harnessing this data and research on the mismatch between low-paying jobs and the cost of survival, ALICE partners convene, advocate and collaborate on solutions that promote financial stability at local, state and national levels. This grassroots ALICE movement, led by United Way of Northern New Jersey, has spread to 28 states and includes United Ways, corporations, nonprofits and foundations in Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawai‘i, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Washington, D.C., West Virginia and Wisconsin; we are United For ALICE. For more information, visit: UnitedForALICE.org.
ALICE is a registered trademark of the United Way of Northern New Jersey.