Forty-one percent of Oregon households remain locked in a state of continuous financial struggle, unable to absorb basic monthly increases in the cost of living despite signs that the economy is improving. That is the central finding of the 2026 ALICE report, released today by United For ALICE in partnership with United Way of Central Oregon.
Drawing on 2024 American Community Survey data, the report finds that the ALICE Household Survival Budget for an Oregon family of four has risen to $91,500 a year, up from $88,000.
The findings expose a widening gap between economic growth and household financial security. While low unemployment dominates the headlines, the cost of daily essentials keeps climbing faster than many families can manage — leaving more than a third of Oregonians unable to cover housing, food, childcare, and other necessities. In 94% of Oregon counties, $20 an hour is no longer enough to support a single parent with one school-age child.
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At the heart of the report is a structural problem: the federal measure of poverty no longer reflects what it costs to live. The Federal Poverty Level (FPL) stands at just $31,200 for a family of four, yet an Oregon family must earn nearly three times that amount to afford the basics. Even Oregon’s more generous benefit thresholds — such as SNAP eligibility set at 200% of the FPL — fall short of the roughly 300% of FPL a family needs to clear the ALICE Threshold.
“The ALICE data gives us a clear and accurate picture of what it actually takes for families in Central Oregon to stay stable,” said Diana Fischetti, Regional Executive Director of United Way of Central Oregon. “These are families who are working hard, showing up for their kids, and doing everything right – everything that should lead to stability and help them get ahead. But in the face of the rising cost of living, they are facing impossible tradeoffs just to cover the basics. When we understand the true scope of that gap, we are better positioned as a community to align around solutions that expand opportunity and create lasting financial stability.”
Looking Beyond Traditional Poverty Measures
When tracking demographic data from a historical 2010 baseline, ALICE researchers noticed a critical, structural pattern. While the number of households trapped below the traditional FPL has remained flat for nearly fifteen years due to rigid federal standard-setting, the number of ALICE households has continuously gone up.
While a minor dip in ALICE household counts occurred between 2022 and 2024, the broader long-term structural trajectory demonstrates that working-class hardship is growing far faster than the FPL shows.
Furthermore, the data indicates that inflation has hit the working class disproportionately harder than affluent spenders. When compared to the broad national Consumer Price Index (CPI)—which measures premium discretionary luxuries like fine dining and jewelry—the ALICE Essentials Index has risen at a significantly faster trajectory since 2007. Because the specific items inside the Household Survival Budget (rent, childcare, basic groceries, and fuel) represent uncompromisable needs, the cost inflation for basic survival in Oregon has outpaced overall price increases nationwide.
Deepening Affordability Fractures and Structural Realities
- The Wage/Survival Mismatch: 44% of full-time workers in Oregon do not earn enough to sustain a single-adult, single-child household budget, pushing families into impossible trade-offs between food and prescriptions.
- The Racial Disparity Gap: Financial hardship disproportionately impacts communities of color across the state, with 46% of households of Two or More Races living below the ALICE threshold, compared to 40% of White, Non-Hispanic households.
- Family Homelessness: Single-parent households carry an overwhelming burden, with 72% of single-female-headed families with children currently struggling below the ALICE threshold. 48% of single-male-headed households and 18% of married-with-children households cannot afford the basics either.
Explore the full Oregon data at unitedforalice.org/introducing-ALICE/Oregon
