ALICE

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United for ALICE Logo

SO, WHO IS ALICE?

ALICE is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.

ALICE families and individuals are those who make more than the federal poverty level, but less than the ALICE Threshold, which is what is needed to afford the basic necessities of food, housing, childcare, transportation and healthcare. 

In 2021, 459,444 households in Iowa (37%) - 43% in Black Hawk County - could not afford basic needs such as housing, childcare, food, transportation, and healthcare.

We come into contact with ALICE individuals each and every day. These hardworking individuals and families live paycheck to paycheck with no extra money to set aside for savings. ALICE cannot always pay the bills, has little or nothing in savings and is forced to make tough choices each day such as deciding between quality childcare or paying the rent. One unexpected car repair bill or medical bill can push these financially-strapped families over the edge.

The future success of our communities is directly tied to the financial stability of these fragile ALICE households.

The ALICE Household Survival Budget is the foundation of the ALICE research. This budget calculates the bare-minimum cost of the household basics needed to live and work in the modern economy by household composition, in every county.

When compared to the more accurate cost of living included in the Household Survival Budget, the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) is drastically inadequate. Unlike the ALICE budgets, the FPL is not based on the cost of contemporary household necessities, and except for Alaska and Hawaii, it is not adjusted to reflect cost-of-living differences. Nor does it adjust for different ages of household members. The FPL is increased annually based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) Consumer Price Index (CPI), and those increases are the same for all U.S. households of a given size. By contrast, the actual household costs in the Survival Budget have increased at different rates depending on location, household size and household composition.

Yet, despite its inadequacies, the FPL continues to be the standard for determining the number and proportion of people living in poverty in the U.S. With the FPL as the primary way for policymakers and local stakeholders to gauge the extent of financial hardship in their communities, a huge portion of struggling U.S. households go unrecognized.

Across Iowa, for all household sizes and in all locations, the FPL is well below the Household Survival Budget. In 2021, the FPL was $26,500 for a family of four. In contrast, Figure 1 shows that the average cost of living for a family of four in Iowa was $61,308 - considerably higher than the FPL - and average household costs for a single adult were also substantially higher. Cost increases in the Household Survival Budget were driven by housing, food and healthcare. Increases were mitigated by child tax credits in 2021 for families with children.

Census income thresholds link from above chart: https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html

Links from above image:
     Change in legislation - https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/TFP2021.pdf
     Reduced the average expenditure - https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/Transportation-Economic-Trends-Transportation-Spen/ida7-k95k/
     Household Survival Budget for other household compositions at the state and county levels - http://unitedforalice.org/Household-Budgets/Iowa

ALICE Percentage Graphic in IowaThe number of households in financial hardship in Iowa continues to be undercounted in official measures. According to the FPL, 11% of households in Iowa (144,427) were in poverty in 2021. Yet United for ALICE data shows that another 24% (315,017) households - more than twice as many - were ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). ALICE households earn above the FPL, but not enough to afford the basics in the communities where they live. 

The reality is that of the 1.3 million households in Iowa, 459,444 - 36%* - had income below the ALICE Threshold of Financial Survival in 2021. These included both households in poverty and ALICE households.

The crux of the problem is a mismatch between earnings and the cost of basics. For example, 36% of cashiers (one of the most common occupations in Iowa) were below the ALICE threshold in 2021. These workers earned a median hourly wage of $11.29 - not enough to cover the ALICE Household Survival Budget for one worker employed full time ($12.10 per hour), much less for a family with children, even with two adults working (combined wage of $30.65 per hour). Between 2019 and 2021, the cost of basics increased in Iowa and were well above the FPL. For a family of four in 2021, the FPL was $26,500 while the ALICE Household Survival Budget was $61,308. From 2019 to 2021, the average annual costs (excluding taxes) increased 16% for a single adult, 13% for a single senior and 10% for a family of four.

KEY FINDINGS OF THE ALICE REPORT INCLUDE:

  • Financial hardship over time: ALICE households are especially vulnerable to national economic disruptions. The number of households below the ALICE Threshold in Iowa increased dramatically through the Great Recession (2007-2010) and continued to increase through 2018. By 2019, that number had just started to fall - and then the pandemic hit. From 2019 to 2021, the total number of households increased by 1% and the number of households below the Threshold increased by 5%.
  • Demographics: There are households below the ALICE Threshold across all demographic groups. But for example, by race/ethnicity, 61% of Black and 46% of Hispanic households were below the Threshold in Iowa in 2021, compared to 34% of white households. Be age of householder, the youngest (under age 25) and oldest (age 65+) households faced the hardest rates of hardship. And by household composition, single-parent families with children were more likely to be below the Threshold than married-parent households or single/cohabitating households without children.
  • Work and wages: Of the 20 most common occupations in Iowa in 2021, 70% paid less than $20 per hour. Most of these saw an increase in the median wage; for example, the median wage for driver/sales workers and truck drivers increased 15% to $20.77 per hour statewide in 2021.But given that wages had stagnated for a decade, many top jobs still had a substantial percentage of workers who lived below the ALICE Threshold in 2021.
  • Pandemic assistance: Public assistance programs were temporarily expanded in 2021, but not enough to bring most households below the ALICE Threshold to financial stability. In Iowa, a family of four with two parents working full-time in two of the most common occupations (retail salesperson and cashier) could not afford the Household Survival Budget in 2021, even with the expanded Child Tax Credit, the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit and the Economic Impact Payments.
  • Savings and assets: While savings rates were increasing on average in Iowa, rates differed by income. According to SHED, only 47% of households below the ALICE Threshold had emergency savings or rainy day funds in October 2019, compared to 68% of thresholds above the Threshold. By November 2021, the rate for households below the Threshold had increased slightly to 48%, as had the rate for households above the threshold (to 69%). Similarly, only 42% of households below the Threshold had retirement assets in 2021, compared to 70% of those above.
  • Beyond 2021: With pandemic assistance waning while significant challenges remain, there are warning signs that the economic situation for households below the ALICE Threshold has worsened since 2021, including sustained high levels of food insufficiency, feelings of anxiety and depression, continued difficulty paying bills, increased medical debt and reduced savings.

RAINY DAY FUNDS:

RETIREMENT ASSETS:

Iowa • State Overview

United For ALICE calculates the cost of household essentials for all counties in Iowa. These costs, outlined in the Household Survival Budget, are calculated for various household sizes and compositions.

Of Iowa's 1,293,028 households in 2021…

  • 11% earned below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
  • 24% were ALICE, in households that earned above the FPL but not enough to afford the basics in the communities where they live
  • Together, 36% of households in Iowa were below the ALICE Threshold (poverty + ALICE divided by total households)

While the COVID-19 pandemic brought employment shifts, health struggles, and school/business closures in 2021, it also spurred unprecedented public assistance through pandemic relief measures. In 2019, 439,443 households in Iowa were below the ALICE Threshold; by 2021, that number had changed to 459,444.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See this data — and more — for all Iowa counties on the County Reports page.

ALICE Lives in Every Community

ALICE lives in rural, urban, and suburban areas across the state. ALICE household data for Iowa is available by County (see map below), ZIP code, Census Designated Place, and County Subdivision (on the Maps page) and by Legislative District. You can also compare states and explore national-level data on the National Overview page or download an Excel version of this data.

 

Household Type: All Households

County Households % Below ALICE Threshold
Adair 3,180 38%
Adams 1,529 42%
Allamakee 5,814 36%
Appanoose 4,920 47%
Audubon 2,498 38%
Benton 10,075 29%
Black Hawk 53,951 41%
Boone 10,720 34%
Bremer 9,638 29%
Buchanan 7,787 33%
Buena Vista 7,506 42%
Butler 5,860 35%
Calhoun 3,932 41%
Carroll 8,761 37%
Cass 5,777 40%
Cedar 7,381 30%
Cerro Gordo 19,569 36%
Cherokee 5,126 34%
Chickasaw 5,005 35%
Clarke 3,740 39%
Clay 7,137 44%
Clayton 7,319 40%
Clinton 19,103 37%
Crawford 6,159 43%
Dallas 37,970 30%
Davis 3,150 32%
Decatur 3,053 46%
Delaware 6,944 32%
Des Moines 17,042 40%
Dickinson 8,096 25%
Dubuque 40,482 33%
Emmet 3,856 38%
Fayette 8,107 43%
Floyd 6,712 41%
Franklin 4,108 39%
Fremont 2,742 36%
Greene 3,790 39%
Grundy 5,024 30%
Guthrie 4,463 37%
Hamilton 5,993 37%
Hancock 4,610 32%
Hardin 7,033 38%
Harrison 5,932 35%
Henry 7,565 39%
Howard 3,708 39%
Humboldt 4,189 34%
Ida 2,951 37%
Iowa 6,765 34%
Jackson 8,020 36%
Jasper 14,370 35%
Jefferson 6,688 45%
Johnson 61,301 35%
Jones 8,053 35%
Keokuk 4,136 41%
Kossuth 6,422 36%
Lee 14,068 40%
Linn 94,884 32%
Louisa 4,043 37%
Lucas 3,614 40%
Lyon 4,364 31%
Madison 6,377 36%
Mahaska 8,813 37%
Marion 13,241 30%
Marshall 15,298 38%
Mills 5,301 32%
Mitchell 4,400 35%
Monona 3,786 38%
Monroe 2,998 32%
Montgomery 4,380 40%
Muscatine 16,785 38%
O'Brien 5,670 38%
Osceola 2,659 30%
Page 6,171 47%
Palo Alto 3,685 36%
Plymouth 10,191 27%
Pocahontas 3,121 38%
Polk 203,390 32%
Pottawattamie 37,930 39%
Poweshiek 7,820 39%
Ringgold 1,860 43%
Sac 4,196 34%
Scott 72,128 35%
Shelby 4,918 36%
Sioux 12,284 32%
Story 38,868 39%
Tama 6,655 39%
Taylor 2,446 36%
Union 4,936 45%
Van Buren 2,858 42%
Wapello 14,120 43%
Warren 19,517 33%
Washington 8,833 35%
Wayne 2,536 42%
Webster 15,659 41%
Winnebago 4,473 36%
Winneshiek 8,156 33%
Woodbury 41,327 41%
Worth 3,164 34%
Wright 5,343 41%

See maps with additional locations and topics on the Maps page.

ALICE Households are Diverse, but Financial Hardship is Not Equally Distributed

ALICE households are as diverse as the communities they live in. ALICE household data is available at the state and county levels by race/ethnicity, household composition (families with children, single households), and age of householder. Exploring the demographics of financial hardship highlights inequities in the state and local economy.

For example, the figure below shows the substantial disparities in financial hardship that exist by race/ethnicity.

Households by Race/Ethnicity, Iowa, 2021

View more demographic data — including data by household type and age of householder for the state and counties — on the Demographics page.

ALICE Works Hard, But It’s Not Enough

A key contributor to the number of ALICE households in Iowa is the fundamental mismatch between the cost of living and what jobs pay. For example, 19% of Driver/Sales Workers And Truck Drivers (the most common occupation in Iowa) were below the ALICE Threshold in 2021.

Top Occupations, Employment, Wages, and Percentage Below ALICE Threshold, Iowa, 2021

OCCUPATION Total

Employment

(BLS)
Median Hourly

Wage

(BLS)
Percent Median

Wage Change

From 2019

(BLS)
Percent Workers

Below ALICE

Threshold

(ACS PUMS)
Driver/Sales Workers And Truck Drivers 52,000 $20.77 15% 19%
Cashiers 44,580 $11.29 5% 36%
Retail Salespersons 37,530 $13.49 17% 27%
Fast Food And Counter Workers 33,010 $11.17 10% 46%
General And Operations Managers 32,670 $36.99 -7% 14%
Registered Nurses 32,650 $29.71 4% 7%
Customer Service Representatives 29,090 $18.00 4% 22%
Laborers And Freight, Stock, And Material Movers, Hand 28,740 $17.88 12% 32%
Cooks 27,330 $13.34 11% 34%
Office Clerks, General 26,800 $17.74 7% 21%

2021 Point-in-Time Data


Population: 130,368  |  Number of Households: 53,951 (4% change from 2019)

Median Household Income: $60,264 (state average: $65,600)

Labor Force Participation Rate: 66% (state average: 66%)

ALICE Households: 26% (state average: 24%)

Households in Poverty: 15% (state average 11%)

The above information was obtained from the 2023 United Ways of Iowa ALICE Report, which can be found by clicking here or visiting https://www.unitedforalice.org/state-overview/Iowa