Local News
Report indicates 42% of Lubbock County households are financially struggling - fox34.com
A new United Way report finds 42 percent of Lubbock County households are financially struggling, meaning nearly half of families here earn above the federal poverty line but still cannot cover basic monthly expenses. The ALICE Report, which stands for Assets Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, measures households that fall into a gap most people don't see on paper.
The ALICE Report, which stands for Assets Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, measures households that fall into a gap most people don't see on paper. They're employed, they're not officially poor, but when rent, childcare, food, and transportation stack up, the math doesn't work. Jessica Adams, Lubbock United Way's Community Impact Director, said the report is built around what it actually costs to survive each month in the real world, not what federal formulas say it should cost.
The 2024 data makes clear this isn't a fringe situation. When four in ten households can't reliably cover necessities, it shows up in the workforce, in schools, and in the decisions families make just to get through the week. Childcare alone can push a working household into the red, and Lubbock's wage landscape doesn't always keep pace with what those costs demand.
The federal poverty level has long been criticized for undercounting financial hardship, and Lubbock's numbers suggest the gap between "not poor" and "doing okay" is wider than most official statistics show.
Common questions
What does the ALICE Report say about Lubbock County?
- The ALICE Report finds 42% of Lubbock County households are financially struggling. These families earn too much to qualify as officially poor but not enough to cover basic monthly costs like rent, childcare, food, and transportation. It's nearly half of all households in the county.
Who counts as ALICE in Lubbock?
- ALICE stands for Assets Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. In Lubbock, these are working residents who don't fall below the federal poverty line but still can't make ends meet when real-world expenses stack up. Jessica Adams of Lubbock United Way says the report reflects actual local cost of living, not federal formulas.
Stay in the loop
Weekly Lubbock news, deals, and events. Free.