The United Way of Connecticut released its annual report on Thursday measuring household poverty using the ALICE methodology, finding that 39% of all households in the state could not afford a basic survival budget in 2024. The organization identified 570,000 households unable to cover full costs for food, housing, utilities, childcare, healthcare and transportation, down from 581,000 households in 2023 but still 14.5% higher than before the coronavirus pandemic.
Connecticut poverty metric shows 39% of households unable to afford basic survival budget in 2024
The United Way of Connecticut released its annual report on Thursday measuring household poverty using the ALICE methodology, finding that 39% of all households in the state could not afford a basic survival budget in 2024. The organization identified 570,000 households unable to cover full costs for food, housing, utilities, childcare, healthcare and transportation, down from 581,000 households in 2023 but still 14.5% higher than before the coronavirus pandemic.
The ALICE framework—Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained and Employed—was developed as an alternative to the Federal Poverty Level metric. The federal measure, based on mid-1960s calculations centered on minimum food costs, set the 2024 poverty threshold for a family of four at $31,200, which the United Way noted represents 27% of the survival budget the ALICE methodology considers necessary.
The basic survival budget for a family of four remained constant at $116,000 in 2024. About 11% of Connecticut households fall below the federal poverty level, according to the United Way.
Growth in ALICE households has extended beyond Connecticut's urban centers into suburban and rural areas. Daniel Fitzmaurice, director of advocacy for the United Way, noted increases in New Milford, Chester, and Deep River, saying these communities are no longer sheltered from economic hardship.
Connecticut has experienced significant cuts to assistance programs in 2025. Nearly 63,000 people lost Supplemental Nutrition Assistance benefits, state officials warned that roughly 110,000 poor adults could lose Medicaid coverage by January, and 143,000 residents lost a collective $295 million in federal tax subsidies for health insurance on the state exchange last winter. Gov. Ned Lamont used $115 million in state surplus dollars to partially offset the insurance subsidy loss.
The nonprofits have pressed state officials to create a child tax credit. Nearly two-thirds of the 36-member Senate and 76 of 151 House members cosponsored bills last spring for such a credit, but Democratic leaders left the option out of the latest state budget negotiated with Lamont. The governor has said he prefers relief proposals benefiting a broader group, such as a reduction in state income tax rates.
- The source does not state what the ALICE methodology considers the survival budget for household types other than a family of four.
- The source does not establish whether the 39% figure for 2024 represents an increase or decrease from 2022, the pre-pandemic baseline year.
- The source does not specify the composition of the 570,000 households unable to afford the full budget by family size or structure.
- The source does not provide details on how the United Way projects the impact of the federal spending cuts on Connecticut households for 2025 or 2026.
- The source does not explain why the United Way believes the 2024 ALICE figures understate the actual problem beyond the reference to unaccounted federal cuts.
Read the original at CT Mirror