MARQUETTE — The Marquette County Board of Commissioners held their biweekly meeting on Tuesday evening, where a special presentation from United Way of Marquette County highlighted the area’s ALICE statistics.

ALICE — which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — is a comprehensive collection of data from United Way that estimates how much it costs to live in each state in the U.S., and who can afford to do so. ALICE reports account for those who live above the Federal Poverty Level, but make less than the basic cost of living for the county they reside in. The reports also account for demographic differences, such as race and ethnicity, gender, and disability status.

According to the most recent data collected for Michigan’s report in 2023, Marquette County has approximately 24% of its 28,707 households living below the ALICE threshold, compared to the state average of 27%. Of those households, 17% of homes in Marquette County were considered to be living in poverty.

Andrew Rickauer, executive director of United Way of Marquette County, explained how the ALICE report used to be something that came out every two years, hence the most recent data being from 2023. However, starting this year, ALICE will become an annually released report instead.

“It really gives a good snapshot of what’s happening in our communities,” said Rickauer. “The report talks about what it truly costs to live and survive, what keeps a community thriving.”

Broken up by census county subdivisions, Powell Township is the area with the highest percentage of households below the ALICE threshold, sitting at 71%. They’re followed by Republic Township at 50%, the city of Ishpeming at 49%, and both Michigamme Township and the city of Marquette each at 47%. Negaunee Township has the least amount of households below the ALICE threshold at 16%.

The ALICE Household Survival Budget reflects the minimum costs of household necessities, such as housing, childcare, food, transportation, health care, technology, and taxes.

For Marquette County, the ALICE survival budget would look like the following for different types of households:

• For a single adult: monthly expenditures looking at around $2,346, for annual expenditures of $28,152. The hourly wage to meet those needs would be $14.08.

• For a single adult with one child: monthly expenditures looking at around $3,511, for annual expenditures of $42,132. The hourly wage to meet those needs would be $21.07.

• For two adults in the same household: monthly expenditures looking at around $3,654, for annual expenditures of $43,848. The hourly wage to meet those needs would be $21.92.

• For two adults with two children: monthly expenditures looking at around $5,593, for annual expenditures of $67,116. The hourly wage to meet those needs would be $33.56.

• For two adults with two children in childcare: monthly expenditures looking at around $6,324, for annual expenditures of $75,888. The hourly wage to meet those needs would be $37.94.

• For a single adult over age 65: monthly expenditures looking at around $2,630, for annual expenditures of $31,560. The hourly wage to meet those needs would be $15.78.

“It’s really (a) shoestring budget, one crisis away from something much greater. We work with 30 nonprofits to support them through funding and volunteerism. I talk with a lot of the clients they serve, and even those that are a little bit out of this population, it’s still one crisis away,” Rickauer explained. “If you’re the one that’s buying a nice cup of coffee on the way to work, if something does happen to your car that’s unexpected, and you’re not quite at the level where you’ve got a solid savings, then you could easily fall into the ALICE threshold without much notice.”

Rickauer also took the time to discuss statistics covering the ideal ALICE Household Stability Budget, which incorporates higher costs for maintaining a more financially stable household over time, including a 10% savings category that can be used in an emergency or for longer-term goals such as education or buying a house.

For Marquette County, the ideal ALICE stability budget would look like the following for different types of households:

• For a single adult: monthly expenditures looking at around $4,153, for annual expenditures of $49,836. The hourly wage to meet those needs would be $24.92.

• For two adults in the same household: monthly expenditures looking at around $6,086, for annual expenditures of $73,032. The hourly wage to meet those needs would be $36.52.

• For two adults with two children: monthly expenditures looking at around $9,590, for annual expenditures of $115,080. The hourly wage to meet those needs would be $57.54.

• For two adults with two children in childcare: monthly expenditures looking at around $10,625, for annual expenditures of $127,500. The hourly wage to meet those needs would be $63.75.

Rickauer also explained how UWMC is working to provide services that meet the needs of individuals or households who are living within the ALICE threshold, such as partnering with DoorDash to deliver groceries for free and using the Internal Revenue Service’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, which offers free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals.

“Just imagine yourself, you could be half a mile away from the Berry Events Center where there’s a Feeding America truck. You’ve got time (and) you can get there, but are you going to walk there and then carry a couple 50 pound boxes of food back to your house? It’s not realistic,” Rickauer said. “We partnered with DoorDash and now we’re able to provide free delivery of food and basic essentials to that ALICE population.”

IRS regulations allow United Way volunteers to go back two years to file for individuals who either don’t have the technology to, don’t understand to, or can’t afford to get their tax returns filed. With the VITA program, tax refunds are able to get back to members of the ALICE population, giving them a bit more money than they would’ve had without doing their returns.

“These individuals were getting, (for) the average return throughout the season, almost $1,800,” Rickauer presented. “Which may not be a lot to some people, but for this population, they can now eat comfortably and not have to worry about giving up on medications or not being able to put gas in their car.”

Rickauer said that UWMC is also working to expand their services to cover a wider variety of areas, as well as a website where those who may be in need of services can find help sorted by different categories. For those interested in volunteering with United Way of Marquette County, more information can be found on their website at uwmqt.org/get-involved.

To read the most recent ALICE report for Michigan in its entirety, or for more information on ALICE and the data it collects, please visit their website at unitedforalice.org/introducing-ALICE/michigan.

United Way of Marquette County is located at 1414 West Fair Avenue #26. They can be contacted at 906-226-8171 or by visiting their website at uwmqt.org.

Abby LaForest can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 548. Her email address is alaforest@miningjournal.net.