2020 ALICE study reveals 51% percent of Louisiana households statewide; Updated United Way ALICE Report details size and scope of financial hardship in Louisiana. View the full 2020 ALICE Report here:

New research shows that in Louisiana, 891,000 households – fully 51 percent statewide and 57% in Northeast Louisiana — struggled to afford basic household necessities in 2018, according to the United Way ALICE Report for Louisiana released August 6, 2020 by the Louisiana Association of United Ways.

ALICE, which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, places a spotlight on a large population of hardworking residents who work at low-paying jobs, have little or no savings, and are one emergency from falling into poverty.

The United Way ALICE Report is the most comprehensive depiction of financial need in the state to date, using data from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Census. The report includes measures, based on present-day income levels and expenses that show how many Louisiana workers are struggling financially, and why.

According to the outdated Federal Poverty Level, 16% of children in the U.S. lived in poverty in 2022. Yet United For ALICE data shows that another 34% — more than twice as many — were also growing up in hardship, in households that earned above the poverty level but less than what it costs to afford the basics. These households are ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.

The reality is that between families in poverty and those that are ALICE, half (50%) of children in the U.S. in 2022 lived in households with income below the ALICE Threshold, struggling to afford the basics of housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, technology, and taxes in their communities.

Use the Data Dashboard, Local Maps, State Briefs & Sponsors, Committees, and Resources tabs below to learn more about children experiencing financial hardship.

In 2019, there were 224,516 military veterans in Louisiana. Overall, a majority of them have fared better economically than nonveterans, in line with a belief that our nation must meet veterans’ basic needs given their service and sacrifice.

Yet in 2019, a substantial 80,928 of those who served our country struggled to make ends meet in Louisiana. According to the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), 9% of veterans in Louisiana (20,897) lived in poverty in 2019. But United For ALICE data shows that another 27% (60,031) —three times as many — were also experiencing financial hardship, in households that earned above the FPL but not enough to afford the basics in the communities where they lived.

The reality is that more than one-third (36%) of all veterans in Louisiana lived in a household with income below the ALICE Threshold of Financial Survival in 2019, the highest rate of all U.S. states.

On the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we launch our new research brief for Louisiana – ALICE in Focus: People With Disabilities. The research reveals that the number of people with disabilities who struggled to afford basics just before the pandemic hit is far higher than federal poverty data indicates — 60% in total, compared to 24% below the federal poverty level, of 716,266 people with disabilities statewide. Explore the new brief and online dashboards for more ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) data: