ALICE 2026: Updating the true cost of economic security. 

To address this UWGCR, in partnership with United for ALICE, advances every year the State of ALICE. United For ALICE is a driver of innovation, research, and action to improve life across the country for ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) and for all. The development of the ALICE measurements, which provide a comprehensive, unbiased picture of financial hardship, has revealed that 41% of U.S. households cannot make ends meet has emerged. In NYS that percentage rises to 48% and one in three households (36%) in the Capital Region.  

The annual ALICE report provides a clearer picture of what families truly need to meet basic costs, build savings, and plan for their futures. While traditional poverty metrics like the Federal Poverty Level capture only the most severe hardship, and haven’t been updated since 1960s, ALICE reflects the full range of modern expenses households face, including housing, utilities, food, childcare, healthcare, transportation, technology, taxes, and modest amounts for incidentals. 

After a decade of work, the spark ignited by the initial study has grown into a grassroots ALICE movement, across more than two-thirds of U.S. states to change the national dialogue about financial hardship. Led by United Way of Northern New Jersey, the ALICE movement includes  United Ways, corporations, nonprofits, and foundations in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut,  Delaware, District of Columbia,  Florida,  Georgia, Hawai‘i, Idaho,  Illinois,  Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska,  New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia , and Wisconsin. 

Join UWGCR and local leaders to learn more about how the ALICE data informs concrete actions in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors.