Over half of Louisiana families can't afford basic essentials, United Way report finds
Aneecha Bradley has had a lot of success in the last few years.
She's a full-time public school teacher in the Baton Rouge area who met her career goals by earning her teacher certification after working as a daycare teacher and a paraprofessional. She owns her own home, and she recently paid off the debt from working toward her teacher certification. She's also the mother of two children.
But Bradley is also one of the 23% of teachers in Louisiana living below the ALICE threshold. More than half of Louisiana households were facing financial hardship in 2021, United Way’s latest ALICE report shows, with Louisiana having the second-highest rate in the United States.
"Even now as a teacher and a homeowner, it's still hard," Bradley said. "When I have to say no, I do or I pay a bill late. I don't qualify for assistance because I'm right above the annual salary, and that's okay. I don't like asking for help. I have known people who prefer to work part-time in order to access assistance, but that's not the path I wanted for myself or my kids."
The Louisiana Association of United Ways released their latest report on financial hardship across the state on Thursday using its ALICE data. ALICE – which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed – looks at the number of families who live above the Federal Poverty Level, but do not earn enough to afford the basics where they live.
There’s often a significant gap between the Federal Poverty Level and ALICE. For Louisiana in 2021, the monthly income for a family of four at the Federal Poverty Level was $2,208, but United Way’s ALICE line is around $5,524. The annual FPL for a family of four is around $26,500, while ALICE is at $66,288.
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The updated report, titled “ALICE in the Crosscurrents,” includes information on how COVID has impacted financial hardship in Louisiana.
“ALICE needs our attention now more than ever, as we recover from the disaster era we universally experienced as Louisianans,” said Sarah Berthelot, president/CEO of Louisiana Association of United Ways, in a release. “This report is a reminder of the scale of struggle that working families – with 51% of all households in Louisiana living below the ALICE threshold, despite disaster aid assistance. As pandemic and disaster recovery aid conclude, the data points to warning signs of the harsh challenges ahead for ALICE, ranging from affording childcare in order to maintain a job to continued difficulty paying bills and addressing basic medical needs.”
Did it cost more to live in Louisiana in 2021?
The Federal Poverty Level for a family of four rose by around 3% between 2019 and 2021, the report shows, but the ALICE Household Survival Budget for Louisiana rose by 11% over the same period to reflect the rising costs of some necessities.
Built into the ALICE Household Survival Budget are several categories for expenses, including housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, technology, taxes and miscellaneous expenses.
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For a family of four, the largest pool of money each month goes toward child care, totaling $1,421. Food follows with $1,104, then taxes with $1,051 (excluding tax credits). The budget also includes around $911 for housing and utilities, $839 for transportation, $893 for health care, $110 for technology such as cell phone plans, and $528 for miscellaneous expenses.
For a family of four – two adults and two children – to meet the budget, they need a full-time hourly wage of $33.14. A single adult needs a wage of $13.38 an hour.
Of the 20 most common jobs in Louisiana, seven do not have a median hourly wage above what’s needed for the ALICE Household Survival Budget for a single adult. These jobs include cashiers, retail salespersons, personal care aides, cooks, wait staff, food preparation workers, and fast food workers.
The budget does not take into account some other expenses many households regularly have to make, such as gifts, haircuts or emergencies, Berthelot said. People living below the ALICE threshold – which are often called "ALICE" by United Way representatives – are often one or two unexpected expenses away from significant hardship.
"We all know ALICE," Berthelot said at a press conference Thursday. "ALICE is the hard worker who waits on our table, fixes our car, rings us up at the grocery store, serves in our classrooms, and cares for our elderly and young. ALICE earns more than the Federal Poverty Level, however not enough to meet a basic survival budget."
How many Louisiana households faced financial hardship in 2021?
Of the 1.8 million households in Louisiana during 2021, more than 902,000 had an income below the ALICE Threshold of Financial Survival – around 51% of the state’s families. Louisiana had the second-highest rate of households below the ALICE level.
Only Mississippi had a higher rate with 52%.
Around 19% of the Louisiana households were below the Federal Poverty Level, and 32% were between the ALICE threshold and the FPL.
Since 2007, the number of households in Louisiana living below the ALICE threshold has increased by 10 percentage-points.
"I want people to know that the cost of living is changing, and unfortunately the pay is not," Bradley said. "Even though I have improved in my career goals and have the ability to make a better living for myself, it still presents a challenge. Eventually I will see the rewards of my labor, but the transition to improve is hard."
Which households have been most impacted?
Black families, households made up of members under 25 and single-parent households were significantly more likely to be living below the ALICE threshold in Louisiana.
The data shows that around 24% of Black households in Louisiana were below the Federal Poverty Level in 2021, and a total of 68% were below the ALICE level. At the same time, around 10% of white families were below the poverty level and 42% were below the ALICE line.
Around 16% of households with two or more races were living in poverty, while just over half were under the survival level.
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Households under the age of 25 years-old also faced significant financial hardship. Around 79% of these households were below the ALICE level, with 42% living below the poverty line. Families in rural areas were also more likely to be under the ALICE threshold, with 59% being below the survival level and 24% living in poverty.
Single-parent households – especially those headed by a single woman – were among the most-heavily impacted. Around 86% of households with children headed by single women were below the ALICE level, including 56% that were below the Federal Poverty Level. For single-parent households headed by single men, 57% were below the ALICE threshold with 28% being in poverty.
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For comparison, around 22% of households with married parents and children were below the ALICE level, with 9% below the poverty line.
The parishes with the highest percentage of households below the ALICE level were Claiborne (69.3%), East Carroll (68.6%), Madison (67%), Tensas (66.6%) and Morehouse (66.4%). The parishes with the lowest rates were Cameron (38.2%), West Baton Rouge (38.9%), St. Charles (40%), Livingston (40.1%) and St. Tammany (41.8%).
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This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Half of Louisiana families can't afford essentials, report says
