Across Florida, for all household sizes and in all locations, the FPL is well below the Household Survival Budget.

In 2021, the FPL was $26,500 for a family of four. In contrast, the average cost of living for a family of four in Florida was $66,324, considerably higher than the FPL, and average household costs for a single adult were also substantially higher. Cost increases in the Household Survival Budget were driven by housing, food, and health care. Increases were mitigated by child tax credits in 2021 for families with children.

Along with the already high costs of living in our state, this financial difficulty can also be attributed to the rise in basic expenses like housing, food and gas during the recent recession.  Despite these rising living expenses, wages for many existing jobs have not increased, and starting salaries for new jobs are often even lower than before.  The result is a workforce living from paycheck to paycheck, with many families only one unexpected expense away from financial crisis.

ALICE in the big bend

The number of households in financial hardship in Florida continues to be undercounted in official measures.

The number of households in financial hardship in Florida continues to be undercounted in official measures. According to the FPL, 13% of households in Florida (1.1 million) were in poverty in 2021. Yet United For ALICE data shows that another 32% (2.7 million households) — more than twice as many — were ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). ALICE households earn above the FPL, but not enough to afford the basics in the communities where they live. The reality is that of the 8.5 million households in Florida, 3.9 million — 45% — had income below the ALICE Threshold of Financial Survival in 2021. These included both households in poverty and ALICE households.

 

The crux of the problem is a mismatch between earnings and the cost of basics. For example, 54% of cashiers (one of the most common occupations in Florida) were below the ALICE Threshold in 2021. These workers earned a median hourly wage of $11.06 — not even enough to cover the ALICE Household Survival Budget for one worker employed full time ($14.17 per hour), much less for a family with children, even with two adults working (combined full-time wage of $33.16 per hour). Between 2019 and 2021, the cost of basics increased across Florida and remained well above the FPL. For a family of four in 2021, the FPL was $26,500 while the ALICE Household Survival Budget was $66,324. Between 2019 and 2021, the average annual costs (excluding taxes) increased 12% for a single adult, 11% for a single senior, and 7% for a family of four.