Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed

{{Short description|Economic definition}}

Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed or ALICE is a definition used to describe households in the United States who earn more than the Federal Poverty Level but not enough to be economically secure.{{Cite web|url=https://lowincomerelief.com/what-is-alice/|title=What is ALICE?|first=Nicole|last=Thelin|date=2023-10-02|website=Low Income Relief|accessdate=2025-02-08}}

The term ALICE was coined in 2012 by the United Way of Northern New Jersey, to describe households that earn too much income to qualify for food stamps but still need assistance.{{Cite book |last=Troutt |first=David Dante |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f4jtCwAAQBAJ&dq=Asset+Limited,+Income+Constrained,+Employed&pg=PA151 |title=The Price of Paradise: The Costs of Inequality and a Vision for a More Equitable America |date=November 2016 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-1-4798-2880-7 |pages=151–152 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last1=Shelden |first1=Randall G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u_-pDwAAQBAJ&dq=Asset+Limited,+Income+Constrained,+Employed&pg=PA255 |title=Delinquency and Juvenile Justice in American Society: Third Edition |last2=Troshynski |first2=Emily I. |date=2019-07-16 |publisher=Waveland Press |isbn=978-1-4786-3986-2 |pages=255 |language=en}} The United Way has defined an Alice threshold for each type of household (rural or urban) in each U.S. county,{{Cite book |last=White |first=Elizabeth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2PHDwAAQBAJ&dq=Asset+Limited,+Income+Constrained,+Employed&pg=PA33 |title=55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal: Your Guide to a Better Life |date=2020-01-28 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-5011-9683-6 |pages=33 |language=en}} based on an estimated cost of living. ALICE describes about 29% of the population and 42% of families in the U.S., including people below the poverty line.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-typical-alice-middle-class-poverty-housing-food-benefits-2024-4?op=1|title=Meet the typical ALICE: Americans struggling to afford basic necessities but making too much to get help|first=Noah Sheidlower, Juliana|last=Kaplan|website=Business Insider|accessdate=2025-02-08}}