AUGUSTA, Maine — According to a new report from the United Ways of Maine, 42% of Maine households struggle to keep up with the costs of living.
The organization released an ALICE Report, which stands for "Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed," showed 243,485 households couldn't keep up with the costs of basic necessities like housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, a phone plan, and taxes.
"Which one do I give up? Which one can I do without? These are the decisions that 42% of families in Maine are having to make on a daily basis," Sara Wing, a mother of two whose income falls below the ALICE threshold, said.
The study serves as a comprehensive overview of how many families in Maine are experiencing financial hardship. The organization said the families who fall below the ALICE income threshold are "one emergency away from financial devastation."
The survival budget for a family of four was $70,908 in 2021, according to the study. Of nearly 600,000 households in Maine, 70,983 were in poverty in 2021, and another 172,502 earned more than the federal poverty level but not enough to afford the basics in the areas they live.
"We are working we are paying taxes, and we are struggling. The struggle needs to end for all ALICE families," Wing said.
Washington County (51%) and Oxford County (52%) had the most households that fall below the ALICE income threshold, while the lowest rates are in counties near southern Maine.
"We need to take a look at the full picture to get those ALICE households to a place where they can be stable and not worry day to day," Mary Madden, United Way of Southern Maine's Director of Evaluation, said. "Not just a program here or a little fix here."
The study said the number of households below the ALICE threshold has only increased since 2021, as pandemic assistance for many necessities comes to an end.
Maine is the 27th state to release an ALICE report. The organization's mission is to make "ALICE" the standard measure to define financial insecurity, Madden said.