ALICE: 30% of Households in Jackson County are ALICE

Man stands in the rain with a yellow umbrella. Text reads: ALICE in the Crosscurrents: Covid and Financial Hardship in Michigan: Jackson County.

JACKSON COUNTY – The United Way network and research partner United for ALICE released its latest report in April, giving us our first look at ALICE data since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

ALICE is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — households that earn more than the Federal Poverty Level, but less than the basic cost of living for the county (the ALICE Threshold). Households below the ALICE Threshold — ALICE households plus those in poverty — can’t afford the essentials.

Pre-pandemic, there were 24,781 households in Jackson County below the ALICE Threshold. Just two years later in 2021, that number jumped 4 percent to 25,791.

Jackson County and ALICE By the Numbers in 2021

  • Population: 160,050
  • Households: 61,937 (1% change from 2019)
  • Median Household Income: $58,254 (state average: $63,498)
  • Labor Force Participation Rate: 56.6% (state average: 60.9%)
  • ALICE Households: 30% (state average 26%)
  • Households in Poverty: 12% (state average 13%)

To view more Jackson County data, visit the Michigan County Reports page at https://www.unitedforalice.org/county-reports/michigan and choose Jackson in the dropdown menu.

Read the full Michigan report at https://www.unitedforalice.org/state-overview/michigan.

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