Key Terms

Household Survival Budget: The bare-minimum costs of basic necessities (housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and a smartphone plan).

ALICE Threshold: The average income needed to afford the Household Survival Budget. Households below the ALICE Threshold include both ALICE and poverty-level households.

ALICE: Households with income above the Federal Poverty Level but below the basic cost of living.

Poverty: Households earning below the Federal Poverty Level

Total Households: The number of households as reported by the American Community Survey.

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Research Center

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West Virginia

We all know people who are ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — earning more than the Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to afford the basics where they live.

ALICE households and households in poverty are forced to make tough choices, such as deciding between quality child care or paying the rent — choices that have long-term consequences not only for their families, but for all.

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West Virginia

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Overview

United For ALICE calculates the cost of household essentials for all counties in West Virginia. These costs, outlined in the Household Survival Budget, are calculated for various household sizes and compositions.

Of West Virginia's 720,668 households in 2022…

17% earned below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
31% were ALICE, in households that earned above the FPL but not enough to afford the basics in the communities where they live
Together, 48% of households in West Virginia were below the ALICE Threshold (poverty + ALICE divided by total households)

While the COVID-19 pandemic brought employment shifts, health struggles, and school/business closures, it also spurred temporary expansion of public assistance through pandemic relief measures (which then reverted to pre-pandemic levels in 2022). In 2019, 327,958 households in West Virginia were below the ALICE Threshold; by 2022, that number had changed to 344,245. Use the buttons below to switch between ALICE data over time by number and percentage.

NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS
PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLDS

Total Households

View Source

See this data — and more — for all West Virginia counties on the County Reports page.

ALICE Lives in Every Community

ALICE lives in rural, urban, and suburban areas across the state. ALICE household data for West Virginia is available by County (see map below), ZIP code, Census Designated Place, and County Subdivision (on the Maps page) and by Legislative District. You can also compare states and explore national-level data on the National Overview page or download an Excel version of this data.

Hover over a county to see the total number and percentage of households that were below the FPL (Poverty), were ALICE, or were above the ALICE Threshold in 2022.

Percent Below ALICE Threshold

0.0%

Household Type: All Households

View Source

See maps with additional locations and topics on the Maps page.

ALICE Households are Diverse, but Financial Hardship is Not Equally Distributed

ALICE households are as diverse as the communities they live in. ALICE household data is available at the state and county levels by race/ethnicity, household composition (families with children, single households), and age of householder. Exploring the demographics of financial hardship highlights inequities in the state and local economy.

For example, the figure below shows the substantial disparities in financial hardship that exist by race/ethnicity.

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Households by Race/Ethnicity, West Virginia, 2022

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View Source

View more demographic data — including data by household type and age of householder — on the Demographics page.

ALICE Works Hard, But It’s Not Enough

A key contributor to the number of ALICE households in West Virginia is the fundamental mismatch between the cost of living and what jobs pay.

Top Occupations, Employment, Wages, and Percentage Below ALICE Threshold, West Virginia, 2022

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Learn more about work on the Labor Force page.

ALICE Data Can Inform Action

A catalyst for change, the ALICE research calls us all to action. Partner organizations across the country are using this research to inform programming, policy, evaluation, planning, and more.

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ALICE In Action

See what our partners are doing to help ALICE in the ALICE in Action database.

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Indicators of Well-being

View ALICE data mapped with Indicators of community well-being

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Community Maps

Search for resources to help ALICE in your community on the Maps page

West Virginia

•

Overview

Of West Virginia's 720,668 households in 2022…

17% earned below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
31% were ALICE, in households that earned above the FPL but not enough to afford the basics in the communities where they live
Together, 48% of households in West Virginia were below the ALICE Threshold (poverty + ALICE divided by total households)

While the COVID-19 pandemic brought employment shifts, health struggles, and school/business closures, it also spurred temporary expansion of public assistance through pandemic relief measures (which then reverted to pre-pandemic levels in 2022)unprecedented public assistance through pandemic relief measures. In 2019, 327,958 households in West Virginia were below the ALICE Threshold; by 2022, that number had changed to 344,245.

Number of Households

Percentage of Households