MEET ALICE
When working isn’t enough to make ends meet
ALICE® (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) represents hardworking members of the community who are employed, yet can’t keep up with the rising cost of living.
ALICE BY THE NUMBERS
563,947
Households in Miami-Dade who are either in poverty or unable to make ends meet and afford basic necessities.
$76,184
The median household income in Miami-Dade, still not enough for many families to keep up with the rising cost of basic needs.
$97,548
The Household Survival Budget in Miami-Dade, nearly three times the federal poverty level for a family of four.
56%
of Miami-Dade County households now fall below the ALICE Threshold, the minimum income needed to cover basic essentials.
2026 United Way ALICE Report
United For ALICE’s latest Report, ALICE: 2026 Update on Financial Hardship, reveals 56% of Miami-Dade households are either in poverty or unable to make ends meet and afford basic necessities.
Please see the Florida and National reports below, or visit the county report pages to see data for Miami-Dade County.
United Way Miami’s Targeted Approach
United Way Miami supports ALICE families by offering immediate support and long-term solutions to help them build brighter futures. We elevate lives through our core four pillars of HERE: Health & Wellbeing, Education, Resilient Communities and Economic Mobility.
Through these pillars, United Way Miami offers families immediate support with food assistance, housing, childcare, healthcare and financial resources to prevent families from falling into poverty. Through our wide array of programs and services, our goal is to uplift families and build a thriving, resilient community.
OUR COMMITMENT
The Blueprint for Impact, the first project of this scale and scope in more than a decade, is United Way Miami’s long-term strategic plan to address the growing and increasingly interconnected challenges facing Miami-Dade residents.
More than a plan, the Blueprint for Impact is a roadmap and collective commitment to building a stronger Miami where every individual and family has the opportunity to thrive.
Read our strategic brief to see how we’re making a difference through 2031.
United Way Miami Harnesses the Power of Partnerships
United Way Miami is the driving force in stabilizing ALICE families through strategic collaboration. This approach reflects a stronger, long-term commitment to achieving shared impact with our partners by combining resources, expertise and a unified vision to drive meaningful, lasting change.
With UpSkill Miami, our unprecedented, transformative workforce development program, the Miami-Dade County workforce is being reskilled and upskilled through partnerships that provide access to training, support and employment opportunities in key industries of high need and growth opportunities.
United Way Miami’s latest partnership with Miami Homes For All tackles housing instability. Miami Homes For All is an organization dedicated to advancing affordable housing production and preservation across our region and we are proud to continue supporting their work. As housing affordability continues to challenge our community, this partnership is more critical than ever to building pathways to economic mobility and helping more of our neighbors find, and keep, a safe, stable place to call home.
Previous Reports
The 2025 United Way ALICE Report
View and download the Miami-Dade County Report
View and download the Florida Report
View and download the National Report
2023 ALICE in the Crosscurrents: COVID and Finacial Hardships
View and download the Miami-Dade County Report
View and download the Florida Report
View and download the National Report
View and download the 2024 Update
It’s easy to overlook someone’s financial struggle. You might see a cashier ringing up groceries, a childcare worker caring for children, or a neighbor working two jobs — without realizing they’re still unable to cover the basics. ALICE families are all around us: our friends, coworkers, and family members.
The updated United Way ALICE Report provides a clear picture of financial insecurity at the state, county and municipal levels. In Miami-Dade, nearly half a million households are either in or one emergency away from falling into poverty. These are hardworking families who earn above the Federal Poverty Level yet still can’t afford essentials like housing, childcare, food, transportation, health care and technology.
By shining a light on ALICE, the report shows just how many of our neighbors are struggling — and why United Way Miami’s work to provide both immediate support and long-term solutions is more critical than ever.
2023 ALICE in Focus Series: VETERANS IN FINANCIAL HARDSHIP
View and download the Florida Report
View and download the National Report
Because U.S. military veterans have served and sacrificed for this country, there is a national sense of responsibility to ensure that their basic needs are met. And overall, veterans have fared better economically than nonveterans. Yet not everyone has been included in that trend: In 2019, more than one-quarter of veterans — 29% — still struggled to make ends meet across Florida.
According to the outdated Federal Poverty Level (FPL), 6% of veterans in Florida lived in poverty in 2019. But United For ALICE data shows that another 23% — nearly four times as many — were also struggling, in households that earned above the FPL but less than what it costs to afford the basics. These households are ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
2023 ALICE in Focus Series: FINANCIAL HARDSHIP AMONG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
View the Miami-Dade County Data
View and download the Florida Report
View and download the National Report
Longstanding discriminatory policies and practices that impact access to education, employment, health care, housing and other resources create barriers to financial stability for people with disabilities. This fact hits home for the more than 40 million people in the U.S. who have a cognitive, hearing, vision, or ambulatory disability, or one that makes self-care or independent living difficult.
According to the outdated Federal Poverty Level (FPL), 23.5% of people with disabilities in Miami-Dade County lived in poverty in 2019. Yet United For ALICE data shows that another 44% were also struggling, in households that earned above the FPL but less than what it costs to afford the basics. These households are ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
Between families in poverty and those who are ALICE, more than half (nearly 68%) of all people with disabilities in the Miami-Dade County lived in a household with income below the ALICE Threshold, struggling to afford essentials in the communities where they lived.
2023 ALICE in Focus Series: CHILDREN IN FINANCIAL HARDSHIP
View the Miami-Dade County Data
View and download the Florida Report
View and download the National Report
The number of children growing up in financial hardship in the U.S. is drastically higher than is widely reported. The ALICE in Focus: Children’s report reveals that federal poverty data undercounts how many children are growing up amid insecurity. According to the outdated Federal Poverty Level, 19.6% of children in the U.S. lived in poverty in 2019. Yet United For ALICE data shows that another 43% — more than twice as many — were also growing up in hardship, in households that earned above the poverty level but less than what is costs to afford the basics. These households are ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
The reality is that between families in poverty and those who are ALICE, nearly 63% of children in Miami-Dade County lived in households that couldn’t afford the basics in 2019.
The 2020 United Way ALICE Report
View and download the ALICE Report.
View and download the FL County Pages
View and download the ALICE in Miami-Dade County
View and download Financial Hardship in Black Households
View and download Race in Florida
It’s easy to be blind to someone’s financial struggle. You grab a cup of coffee at the local café or bakery and don’t know the barista is a college student or single mom holding down two jobs to make ends meet. ALICE families are our neighbors, friends and family members.
The updated United Way ALICE Report is providing a holistic snapshot of financial insecurity at the state, county and municipal level. The population identified in the report as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) are hardworking members of the community who are employed, yet can’t keep up with the rising cost of living.
To learn more, visit:
Sources:
2026 ALICE Report, State of ALICE: Update on Financial Hardship
