#MiddleburyCT #ALICE #PovertyLevel
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
Middlebury, with its median household income of $142,750 in 2023 (Connecticut Demographics by CUBIT), is considered an affluent community. Yet, according to 2023 statistics released by the United Way, 24% of Middlebury’s 2,861 households, or 687 households in this affluent town have median household incomes either at or below the poverty level of $12,998 or the ALICE level of $30,080 to $50,544.
What does ALICE stand for? It refers to workers who are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. These are working folks who earn above the federal poverty level but don’t earn enough to afford basic expenses in the county where they live. The United Way estimated in 2023 that a single person needed to earn $3,233, or $38,796 a year for a household survival budget. A family of four would need to earn $10,073 a month, or $115,680 a year for their household survival budget
The United Way’s recently released 2025 State of ALICE report describes ALICE workers this way: “Workers below the ALICE Threshold often perform the jobs that keep our economy functioning smoothly – they are child care providers, food service workers, cashiers, personal care aides, delivery drivers, and more. Their stories capture the systemic and structural barriers to financial stability, and the struggles and resilience of families experiencing financial hardship.”
The United Way, noting the federal poverty level is outdated, says ALICE families often are locked out of public assistance. Even though they are living paycheck to paycheck, they earn too much to qualify for much of the available support. They are left trying to make decisions such as paying a heating bill or buying healthy food for their family and paying for child care or working fewer hours and staying home with their child.
In 2023, a family of four in Connecticut needed $115,208 just to cover the essentials. However, full-time wages of the two most common jobs in the state – personal care aide and stock worker/order filler – fell short of covering the essentials by $41,368 even if both parents worked.
The United Way lends a helping hand to ALICE families in many ways, as you can see in the videos at unitedwaygw.org/gallery. It offers the resource hotline 211, hosts Stock the Pantry to fill food bank shelves just as students break for summer, and offers the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program to ensure workers can file for free and maximize their returns, financial literacy programs to help individuals gain self-sufficiency, and job training programs where adults can earn a ServSafe Food Handler Certificate that leads to a good job.
