New data shows more people in Washington are struggling to afford basic necessities for survival.
The latest United for ALICE report, which analyzed 2023 data to see how many households earned less than the amount needed to afford necessities like food and housing, shows numbers are going up.
The data is compiled by United Way organizations across the country, as well as other nonprofits, foundations, and corporations.
ALICE is an acronym that stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. Individuals below the ALICE threshold have “income above the Federal Poverty Level but less than the cost of essentials,” according to United Way of Whatcom County.
Officials with United Way say these numbers are helpful determinants of need in a community, since they consider the federal poverty level to be “outdated” and it doesn’t account for geographic differences in costs.
In 2023, for example, the U.S. federal poverty level for a family of four was an annual income of $30,000. In Washington, the basic survival budget for two adults and two children (without childcare) was $83,160. In King County, it was $111,012. For two adults with two children in King County with childcare, the number shot up to $138,612.
“It’s just harder and harder for those folks who are working but not making enough to make ends meet,” said Patricia Boyce, United Way of Whatcom County’s Director of Development & Community Impact.
“They are having to make these impossible choices every day,” said Kristi Birkeland, President and CEO of United Way of Whatcom County. “Are they going to pay rent or buy food?”
Before the pandemic, in Washington, the percentage of households earning less than the basic survival budget was 32%. In 2023, that number spiked to 38%.
The numbers are even higher in some of our northern counties. 40% of households were below the survival budget in Snohomish County in 2023. The number was 45% in Whatcom County.
In Pierce County in 2023, the number was 35%. In King County, it was 34%.
You can explore the breakdown county-by-county here.
Boyce and Birkeland said increased need is putting extra strain on nonprofits and agencies that help pick up the slack.
“The demand for their services shot up during COVID,” Birkeland said. “Everyone was thinking that they would go back down eventually, and they just haven’t.”
KIRO 7 asked Boyce and Birkeland what they thought the solutions would be to reverse the trend. They said the answer was complex because each individual has their own reasons for struggling with financial stability.
“It could be because their rent increased and they just can’t make up that difference, or it could be that there is substance abuse in the home, or a mental health challenge that folks are dealing with, or maybe a combination,” Birkeland said. “But it’s all interconnected, and so having that support system of local nonprofits that are working in a myriad of ways to help folks is really important.”
©2025 Cox Media Group
