A new report shows a decrease in the amount of people struggling to get by in Hawaiʻi, but it’s likely due to households leaving the state.
Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed households — or ALICE — is how Aloha United Way refers to those who make too much to qualify for government assistance, but not enough to cover the basic necessities to live in Hawaiʻi.
Aloha United Way’s new report shows a 4% decrease from 2022 in the number of families below the ALICE threshold. Of those ALICE families, there was also a 2% decrease in the number of those below the poverty line.
Outmigration was likely the main reason for the decrease, although pandemic recovery could be a factor.
Aloha United Way Chief Operating Officer Suzanne Skjold explained that 37% of households said that someone in their family is considering moving out of state.
“There were two very clear key drivers, 85% of families said it was simply the high cost of living in Hawaiʻi, and 73%, three out of four families, who said they're considering leaving, specifically said it was because of the high cost of housing,” she said.
“There's other reasons that are impacting families … but these two are driving our outmigration for families who are considering leaving. And if that one in three doesn't sound too terrifying, that means 180,000 people right now are considering leaving the state of Hawaiʻi from our workforce, from our younger families, our Hawaiian families.”
Lawmakers were urged to keep ALICE families at the center of their policies to lower the cost of living and prevent more outmigration.
