Many in Richmond area above the poverty line, but struggling

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A large cross-section of Americans is at risk of falling below the poverty line as the program that provided more than 32 million people with extra SNAP benefits during the pandemic is set to end. Families received at least $95 extra per month to spend on food.


More than 21,000 metro Richmond households with incomes above the poverty line fell into financial stress during the first two years of the pandemic, unable to earn what it takes to cover basic bills, census data shows.

That increase brought the total number of so-called “ALICE” households – Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed – to more than 169,000 in 2021, the latest year for which data are available, or one-third of the metro area’s total.


A nonprofit’s report details pandemic impact on working families


ALICE households don’t earn enough to cover a basic budget for housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and a smartphone plan, plus taxes.

In metro Richmond-Petersburg, that was $76,971 for a family of four with an infant and a preschooler in 2021, the United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg calculates.

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An additional 3,100 fell below the poverty line, bringing that total to more than 54,000, or 10.6% of area households. For a family of 4, the 2021 poverty line was $26,500. It now stands at $23,000.

Job disruptions and inflation delivered significant financial pain, said a report from the United for Alice nonprofit, an association of United Way groups, nonprofits, foundations and companies in 27 states.


Here are data on ALICE households and households below the poverty line for the greater Richmond-Petersburg region


Pandemic supports and rising wages mitigated the impact of what could have been a deeper financial crisis for many households, but as those benefits end, greater money stresses are on the horizon, the report said.

“Growing food insufficiency and other indicators reveal continued stress,” said Stephanie Hoopes, United For ALICE national director.

“Ignoring these warning signs places ALICE, our economy and the well-being of our communities at great risk,” she said. 

Food banks have already been reporting that soaring food prices have sparked demand that matches the height of the pandemic.


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“It could have been so much worse for these families, whose struggle to feed their families, afford health care and access quality education was often hidden in plain sight until the pandemic,” said Angela Otto, interim chief executive of the United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg.

ALICE data can help target policies to ease those hardships, she said.



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Volunteers and staff prepare boxes of meals at Feed More on March 13.




The report found racial disparities when it comes to financial stress: 58.8% of Black households and 55.8% of Hispanic ones had incomes below the ALICE income level. On the other hand 35.5% of white households were below that level.

Many of the most common jobs in Virginia, meanwhile, pay less than $20 per hour, which the report said is not enough to support a family of four with an infant and a preschooler here, even with two parents earning that salary.

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