United Way of Frederick County presented its 2025 ALICE report, which stands for Access Limited, Income Constrained but Employed, at a County Council meeting Tuesday night.

According to the ALICE report, 33% of Frederick households live below the ALICE threshold. These families live above the national poverty level, but are not able to make ends meet.

The national poverty level is set based on family size, but remains the same across all states except Alaska and Hawaii. A single adult is considered in poverty if they make less than $15,650 per year. For a family of four, it’s less than $32,150.

The ALICE report is able to localize data down to the county level, and United Way used that information to create the ALICE Budget. This budget estimates how much different sized households have to make to live in Frederick.

According to the report, a single adult needs to earn $49,380 per year to meet their needs, which is an hourly wage of $24.69. Alternatively, a family of four needs to make $111,588 per year, or $55.79 per hour.

The African American and Hispanic communities make up a disproportional amount of ALICE households. 42% and 45% of those families, respectively, are unable to meet their needs.

Single parents also find themselves more commonly under ALICE, with 49% of single fathers and 76% of single mothers qualifying. While Adults under 25 make up the smallest population of Frederick households at 2,393, 85% of them live below the threshold.

Data Collection

Council Member Jerry Donald asked United Way CEO Ken Oldham how the ALICE report’s data was collected. Donald pointed out the U.S. Census is only taken every ten years.

Oldham explained United Way has a team of researchers operating out of New Jersey who collect and analyze the data, led by Stephanie Hoopes Ph.D. the director of the ALICE project. Hoops and her team used data from the American Community Survey (ACS), Oldham said.

The ACS is a yearly survey conducted by the Census Bureau that determines where trillions of federal dollars are spent. Oldham the ACS is used everywhere, including county data. “Most of the data you are getting from the federal government -at some place, way, shape or form- the American Community Survey is being used,” Oldham said.

Council President Brad Young noted the report showed that 48% of Brunswick households are under the ALICE threshold. He asked how the city’s growth, which he said nearly tripled over the last several years in areas with more expensive homes, could affect the ALICE numbers.

Oldham explained that just because homes in the area are expensive, doesn't mean that ALICE families aren’t living there. He pointed to a prevalence of townhomes and even basements being rented as apartments. “Generaly speaking, if you are renting in Frederick County, you are ALICE,” Oldham explained.

To get people out from under the ALICE threshold, Oldham noted, involves getting people out of renting situations and into equity accruing homeownership.