Florence, South Carolina – The price of simply getting through the month has been rising faster than overall inflation in South Carolina, and new United For ALICE data shows the pressure has been building for years.
The latest State of ALICE report, released in partnership with United Way of Florence County, focuses on households that earn more than the Federal Poverty Level but still cannot afford basic needs. ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, a group often working, often above official poverty lines, but still living close to the edge.
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At the center of the report is the ALICE Essentials Index, which tracks six core costs: housing, child care, food, transportation, health care and technology. From 2007 to 2024, those essentials climbed 65% in South Carolina. By comparison, the broader Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation across more than 200 categories, rose 52% during the same period.
That gap helps explain why many working households feel squeezed even when they are not counted as poor. In Florence County, 53,782 households were classified as ALICE in 2024. When combined with households living in poverty, 45% of all county households fell below the ALICE Threshold of Financial Survival.
“Behind these numbers are families making impossible choices every day, between groceries and utilities, child care and rent,” said Cameron Campbell, President of United Way of Florence County, in a release sent to Florence News Journal.
“The ALICE data helps guide our work with partners across Florence County, so we can respond to immediate needs and help build stronger paths to stability.”
The numbers are especially stark for families with children. In 2024, a family of four in Florence County needed $76,320 a year just to cover essentials. That was nearly two and a half times the Federal Poverty Level of $31,200. Even with both parents working full time in two common jobs, a cook and a teller, the family’s income still fell $11,344 short of the basic survival budget.
Statewide, South Carolina ranked 35th in financial hardship among all 50 states and Washington, D.C. ALICE households were present across major industries, with the highest hardship rates in food service and accommodation at 43%, retail trade at 33%, and administrative support and waste management at 32%.
“The ALICE research shows that the affordability crisis is not new,” said Stephanie Hoopes, Ph.D., National Director at United For ALICE.
“Already stretched thin, ALICE families have no cushion for rising gas or utility costs, forcing tough tradeoffs with other necessities. That’s the insight policymakers and community leaders need to build a stronger future for ALICE and all.”
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The report also notes that poverty rates in Florence County have remained relatively flat since 2010, while the number of ALICE households has grown, a sign that the struggle is spreading beyond traditional poverty measures and deeper into the working class.
