Alice Report

The release of the 2026 State of ALICE in Texas Report, provides an updated look at the financial challenges facing Texas households that are working but struggling to make ends meet. Combining ALICE households plus those living in poverty, 40% of households in Texas were below the ALICE Threshold in 2024. This rate was lower than the national average (41%), and placed Texas 30th among all states and the District of Columbia. The report reveals that the cost of household necessities in Texas has risen significantly faster than overall inflation for more than 15 years, placing increasing pressure on families living paycheck to paycheck.

The latest State of ALICE report for Texas also includes data from the ALICE Essentials Index, which tracks the rising costs of only six basics families need to live and work: housing, child care, food, transportation, health care and technology. Using the ALICE Essentials Index, which measures the cost of these six household necessities, the report offers a more accurate picture of what it truly costs to live and work in today’s economy and highlights the growing financial challenges facing working families across the state.

Since 2018, United Ways of Texas has invested in bringing ALICE research to communities across the state, because traditional poverty measures alone fail to capture the growing number of hardworking Texans who are struggling to afford the basics. The ALICE data provides local leaders, businesses, employers, nonprofits, and policymakers with reliable information to better understand financial hardship and develop solutions that help families achieve stability.