The number of people working just to make ends meet has decreased slightly since last year, according to the United Way of the Coastal Empire’s ALICE data.

ALICE — or Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — shows the number of working families that surpass the income mark set by the federal poverty level but still struggle to make ends meet. The ALICE threshold includes those households below or at the federal poverty limit and those who qualify for ALICE status.

The ALICE data for 2024 shows of the 23,998 households in Liberty County, 52% are below the ALICE threshold. Last year, that figure was at 54%.

The Liberty County Development Authority has been using ALICE data to guide its industrial recruitment and development efforts. “Our mission is to create, grow, and attract jobs and investment that expand and balance Liberty County’s tax base while improving the standard of living for our residents,” said LCDA president Brynn Grant, the former CEO of the United Way of the Coastal Empire. “The ALICE data helps us better understand the people we serve and make more informed decisions about incentive criteria, ensuring economic development projects support business success while delivering meaningful benefits for our workforce and our community.”

The median household income in the state is $79,991, but for Liberty County, that figure is $64,122. Liberty tops the state in labor force participation rate, with 68%, compared to 65% for the rest of Georgia.

Liberty County’s poverty rate is 15.7%, with 3,778 households meeting the federal guidelines. The state average is 13%. Liberty’s poverty rate has remained steady since 2010, according to data from the American Community Survey.

Since 2010, the percentage of Liberty County families meeting the ALICE threshold has been as high as 57% and as low as 43%. By zip codes, the two with the highest number of households below the ALICE threshold are 31323 and 31315, both at 63%. The lowest is 31309, at 37%.

Under the ALICE figures, the annual total for a survival budget for a household of two adults and two children is $69,336, meaning if both parents work, their combined hourly wage has to be $34.67. For two adults ages 65 and over, that minimum annual pay is $58,016.

The survival budget does not include putting away any money for savings and equates to the minimum cost of living and working in the current economy.

The age group with the highest percentage living below the ALICE threshold are those 25 and younger, with 71% not meeting the threshold. Those ages 45-64 had the highest percentage, at 41%. Among household types, 83% of those headed by a single mother with children did not meet the ALICE threshold, while 35% of households with married couples and children did.

The federal poverty level for a single adult is $15,060 a year and $31,200 for a family of four. But the federal poverty of level, which has not had its methodology updated since the 1960s, is obsolete, according to the United Way. As a result, the United Way states, the official poverty rate sharply underestimates the true extent of financial hardship in the U.S.

ALICE was developed to give the United Way a clearer picture of the hardships faced by people in their service areas.