For 46% of Jasper County residents and 39% of Beaufort County residents, this is reality
ALICE households cannot always pay the bills, have little or nothing in savings, and are forced to make tough choices such as deciding between quality childcare or paying the rent. One unexpected car repair or medical bill can push these financially strapped families over the edge. The future success of our community is directly tied to the financial stability of these fragile ALICE households.
Resources
Read the interactive ALICE Report
NEW! Download The State of ALICE in South Carolina: 2025 Update on Financial Hardship Report
NEW! Download the 2025 Beaufort and Jasper County Snapshots
2024 ALICE in the Crosscurrents: An Update on Financial Hardship in South Carolina
2024 ALICE in Focus: Children in Financial Hardship in South Carolina
ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed)
What is an ALICE Household?
You may have a relative, friend, colleague, or neighbor that is an ALICE household. You may be ALICE!
These are households that earn just above the federal poverty level but less than what it actually costs to make ends meet. Every day, these families are forced to make impossible choices. These are our health care providers, teachers, retail clerks, waiters, childcare professionals, sanitation workers, and many more. These workers are the backbone of our economy; the pandemic made it undeniably clear just how much our communities depend on them.
ALICE also represents the data reshaping the dialogue on financial hardship, and a grassroots movement gaining momentum across half of U.S. states—and counting.
For a growing number of U.S. households, financial stability feels out of reach no matter how hard they work. ALICE households span all races, ages, ethnicities, and abilities, and are part of every community nationwide. They include workers whose wages cannot keep up with the rising cost of goods and services, people working two or more jobs who still cannot pay their bills, and family members whose caregiving responsibilities make it even harder to find adequate work. Living paycheck to paycheck, these households face gut-wrenching tradeoffs: pay the rent or buy food, receive medical care or pay for childcare, keep the lights on or put gas in the car. And while financial hardship touches communities of every background, households of color are disproportionately affected.
A Roadmap to Self-Sufficiency
Too many of our neighbors are working hard and still can't make ends meet. In Beaufort County, 39% of households and 46% in Jasper County earn too much to qualify for assistance but not enough to cover basic needs like housing, healthcare, childcare, and food. These are working families forced to make impossible choices every single day.
That has to change.
The Lowcountry is home to more than 1,700 nonprofits, many focused on human services and self-sufficiency. But while these organizations share common goals, few have been working together. Until now.
In 2024, United Way of the Lowcountry partnered with the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, Beaufort County Human Services, and Coastal Community Foundation to bring a coalition of organizations to the table. Together, we're building a shared vision and community-wide strategic plan to break down barriers to self-sufficiency through collaboration, advocacy, and real solutions. That vision has grown into the Lowcountry Movement on Self-Sufficiency, also known as Lowcountry MOSS.
A comprehensive roadmap will guide United Way and local agencies toward lasting, sustainable impact, and we're just getting started.
Want to get involved? Reach out to ddouthat@uwlowcountry.org to learn how you or your organization can be part of this collective effort. Together, we can create lasting change.