Times are tough across America, but here in the Hub City, it hits a little harder when the numbers are laid out in black and white. According to a report from the Lubbock Area United Way and their research partner, United for ALICE, nearly half of all Lubbock County households are struggling to cover the basics.
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What the Numbers Show
The report says 62,660 households in Lubbock County—about 49%—couldn’t afford essentials like housing, food, childcare, healthcare, or transportation in 2022. That’s a 5% increase from the year before.
This group includes 24,253 households officially living in poverty, plus another 38,380 families considered ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). These are the folks working hard in jobs like childcare, home health, and retail—the same essential workers we celebrated during the pandemic—yet they’re still living just one emergency away from financial disaster.
Why It’s Getting Harder
The cost of living in Lubbock has climbed faster than wages. Essentials like rent, groceries, and childcare are up, while jobs often come with unpredictable hours and few benefits. United Way points out that for a family of four with two little ones, the bare minimum survival budget in Lubbock County is now $81,204 a year.
And the disparities are clear: 57% of Black households and 52% of Hispanic households in Lubbock are below the ALICE threshold, compared to 35% of White households. Single moms are hit the hardest—81% of single-female-headed households here can’t afford the basics.
Why This Matters to Lubbock
United Way’s Libby Linker put it best:
Almost half of the families in our community struggle to make ends meet, feed their families, afford health care, and access quality early childhood education. With the ALICE data, we can do better to advocate for policies and invest in solutions.…