New report reveals nearly half of local households struggling to afford basics

By RICK KAZMER

United Way of the Southern Alleghenies

 

United Way of the Southern Alleghenies highlights ALICE data in community

A new report from United Way of Pennsylvania and its research partner, United For ALICE, reveals a troubling reality: nearly half of all households in Blair, Cambria, and Somerset counties are living paycheck to paycheck, often without access to assistance.

In 2023, 29% of Pennsylvanians working the 20 most common jobs—including personal care aides, janitors, cashiers, and waitstaff — lived in households that couldn’t afford basic necessities like housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and technology. These workers fall into a demographic known as ALICE, an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.

Locally, the percentage of households living below the ALICE threshold or in poverty stands at 48% in Blair County, and 45% in both Cambria and Somerset Counties, according to the report.

“The ALICE survival budget highlights a very real struggle for many hardworking people in our community,” said Karen Struble Myers, President & CEO of United Way of the Southern Alleghenies. “It’s hard to save for the future when living day to day uses all of your resources.”

While 12% of Pennsylvania households fall under the federal poverty line, an additional 28% are classified as ALICE — earning above poverty levels but still falling short of affording basic needs. Many of these households do not qualify for assistance, due to outdated eligibility guidelines based on the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).

For example, the FPL for a family of four in Pennsylvania is a little more than $30,000. Yet, even if two parents work full-time in some of the state’s most common jobs — such as a personal care aide and a stock worker/order filler — they still struggle to meet the cost of living.

United Way of the Southern Alleghenies is responding to this challenge by continuing to invest in basic needs programming, expanding its regional diaper bank (now distributing up to 12,000 diapers per month), and delivering high-impact early childhood education programs to help families from the very beginning.

“It is important that our grantmaking strategy include the often-overlooked ALICE population,” added Struble Myers. “We are also using our advocacy efforts to support policy initiatives — such as the Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit — that will ease the financial burden on struggling households.”

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