Nearly 29,000 working households across Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties earned above the federal poverty level in 2024 but still too little to cover the basics, according to new data released today by United For ALICE in partnership with United Way of Southwest Michigan. The figures reflect 2024, the most recent year available through the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which reports on a lag.
These households are referred to as ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. They work, often more than one job, and earn more than the poverty line, but not enough to afford essentials like housing, child care, food, transportation, health care and a basic phone plan. Because their income clears the poverty mark, they rarely show up in traditional hardship counts, even though they are stretched just as thin.
That blind spot is exactly why the data matters. It gives United Way of Southwest Michigan and its local partners a clearer picture of who is struggling and where, well beyond what poverty numbers alone reveal, and it guides where resources go, from meeting immediate needs to longer-term work on stability.
When ALICE households are combined with those living in poverty, the full count of households that can't afford the basics climbs to nearly 45,000, about 38% of the region, or close to 4 in 10. But it is the ALICE share, the working families just above the poverty line, that this data brings into focus for the first time.
The picture varies across the three counties. A household falls below the ALICE Threshold of Financial Survival when its income isn't enough to afford the basics where it lives, a figure United For ALICE calculates county by county based on local costs and family size. In Berrien County, the region's largest, about 15,500 households were ALICE, and roughly 24,600 of its 62,987 households (39%) fell below that threshold. Cass County had the highest rate of the three, with about 5,700 ALICE households and 39% of its 21,207 households below the line. In Van Buren County, about 7,500 households were ALICE and 37% were below the threshold. All three counties tracked close to the statewide hardship rate of 40%.
The core problem is that the cost of essentials has been climbing faster than wages, a national trend that plays out in household budgets across Southwest Michigan. A family of four in the region needed roughly $65,000 to $68,000 a year just to cover the basics in 2024, more than double the federal poverty level of $31,200. Even a single adult needed to earn close to $15 an hour to afford a bare-bones budget for one person, with nothing left for a child, an emergency or a single missed shift.
The hardship is not spread evenly. Single mothers raising children were hit hardest, with 75% to 83% below the threshold across the three counties. Households headed by someone under 25 also struggled at high rates, reaching 88% in Berrien County. Older residents were not far behind, with about half of households headed by someone 65 or older falling below the threshold in Cass and Van Buren counties.
"These are our neighbors, the people who care for our kids, stock our shelves and keep our communities running, and too many of them are one unexpected bill away from crisis," said Anna Murphy, CEO of United Way of Southwest Michigan. "The ALICE data tells us exactly where the need is so we can meet it, and it reminds all of us that hard work alone is no longer enough to get by."
Murphy added that the data is meant to be a shared tool, not a verdict. "Our employers, our chamber and our economic development partners are central to this work. When we understand where families are stretched, we can build solutions together, from childcare to transportation to housing to the kinds of good jobs that keep our region strong."
United Way of Southwest Michigan is asking residents across Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties to be part of the response by giving, advocating for ALICE families, or volunteering to help in your community. To give or to explore the full data including county-by-county, state, and national numbers, visit uwsm.org or UnitedForALICE.org/Michigan.
