Asset Limited
Income Constrained
Employed
The most essential workers in our community - early education workers, home health aides, store clerks, servers, office assistants, and fast food workers -
are often the most financially vulnerable.
We call them ALICE and they comprise 31% of Arkansans. Added to the 16% of our population living below the Federal Poverty Line, that means nearly half of our neighbors are stretched impossibly thin.
45%
Nearly half of residents in Pulaski County fall below the ALICE threshold.
Using state-specific data based on household type, the ALICE survival budget calculates the bare-minimum cost of household basics, including housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and a smartphone plan, plus taxes and a small contingency.
This is in contrast to the Federal Poverty Line, an outdated measure of financial hardship that was established in 1965,
when a loaf of bread cost 20 cents.
In Pulaski County: 17% of households fall below the federal poverty line. 28% of households are ALICE.
Family: Two Adults, Two Children in Childcare
Pulaski County
Monthly:
$6,718
Hourly Wage:
$40.31
total ($20.15 each adult.)
One Adult, 65+
Pulaski County
Monthly:
$2,946
Hourly Wage:
$17.68
Federal Poverty Line
Family of 4, Monthly:
$2,680
Family of 4, Annually:
$32,150
Federal Poverty Line
1 person, Monthly:
$1,304
1 person, Annually:
$15,650
Arkansas's Minimum Wage:
$11
Action for ALICE
When nearly half of our state is working - often two or three jobs - and still coming up short, it's clear that we must take action to address the systems holding people back. ALICE is at the heart of our work, because ALICE is the heart of our community. Join us in taking action for ALICE, and strengthen our state for everyone.
United Way's Investments for ALICE
Youth Opportunity
- After-school tutoring and mentoring programs not only empower children from ALICE households, but also provide their parents a needed source of meaningful, high-quality childcare while they work.
- United Way funded partners provide educational supports to ALICE families. Our investment in programs like Dolly Parton's Imagination Library make sure that a family's budget doesn't stand in the way of their children's early development.
Financial Security
- United Way supports a variety of programs that empower ALICE for the future, from adult education to job-skills training.
- In times of crisis, ALICE is supported by one-on-one case management to build toward stability in employment and housing.
Healthy Community
- United Way has a long-term track record of partnering with agencies who respond to mental health challenges - including the impacts of stress and anxiety on ALICE families.
- Our mental health investments are not only providing free or reduced cost care to ALICE, they're also de-stigmatizing mental health challenges and pursuing help.
Learn More from Our Partners
Heart of Arkansas United Way is proud to be a sponsor of the 2025 ALICE report, alongside the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield, Baptist Health, the Delta Dental Foundation, and Entergy. Learn more about our work together at the links below.