Local families making $70k are still on a survival budget
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images
Residents in Missouri and Kansas making more than double the national poverty line — nearly half the population in parts of the KC metro — are still struggling to pay for the basics.
Why it matters: Almost 200,000 families in Kansas City fall into the gap of making too much for public benefits programs while living on a "survival budget," according to United Way.
Driving the news: United Way of Greater Kansas City this week released first-time data on ALICE (asset limited, income constrained and employed) households here in Kansas City.
- The report analyzes multiple public data sets and will be updated annually.
Zoom in: A local family of four needs to make roughly $6,000 a month to pay for basic survival — the ALICE threshold — with most expenses coming from housing, child care, food, transportation and health care.
- That doesn't include the costs of existing debt or caring for family members with disabilities or health problems.
- ALICE households are more frequently headed by single mothers, families under 25 years old or over 65, and Black families.
By the numbers: More than 1 in 3 households in the KC metro are below the ALICE threshold of $72,228 a year for a family of four.
- In Wyandotte County, 46% are below, compared with 40% in Jackson County and 26% in Johnson County.
What they're saying: The data shows "just how narrow of a line people have to walk between being able to survive and potentially escalating into crisis," United Way vice president Todd Jordan said during a Tuesday webinar.
- He also noted more older adults and people with higher education are struggling.
Context: Missouri stopped approving child care aid applications amid surging demand and budget struggles.
What we're watching: United Way connects residents with existing aid, including eviction prevention and bus fare programs, but Jordan says officials need to use the data to update thresholds for public assistance programs.