Aloha United Way, in partnership with the Bank of Hawaii Foundation, released the 2024 ALICE in Hawaii report Thursday urging policy action to address rising living costs, housing instability and economic challenges especially faced by the state’s ALICE — asset-limited, income-constrained, employed — households.
The 2024 ALICE in Hawaii report shows that while the percentage of households below the poverty line decreased to 12% in 2024 from 14% in 2022, the proportion of ALICE households remained unchanged at 29%. Nearly one-third of Hawaii households are classified as ALICE.
“We believe a few of the reasons for this are government interventions from COVID, which obviously helped families who were struggling to get back out of poverty; families have been able to go back to work after the pandemic and earn a little more money to bring themselves back out of poverty,” AUW Chief Operating Officer Suzanne Skjold said. “In some cases there were increases in wages for lower-wage jobs because of minimum wage rules.”
Unlike other states that use census data from the previous year, Hawaii’s report gathers information within the year to provide the most up-to-date data. For the 2024 report, 1,870 surveys were collected between June 24 and Aug. 27.
Food and housing insecurity continue to affect many residents. Statewide, 28% of households face food insecurity, and 46% of those below the ALICE threshold lack consistent access to food.
Housing insecurity data reveals that 27% of households statewide are concerned about being forced to move within a year, a figure that rises to 41% among those below the ALICE threshold.
Additionally, over one-third of households statewide report someone in the household has considered moving out of state, citing the overall cost of living — 85% — and housing costs — 73% — as primary factors.
“If that 1 in 3 doesn’t sound too terrifying, that means 180,000 people right now are considering leaving the state of Hawaii — from our workforce, from our younger families, our Hawaiian families — and that is something that we are deeply concerned about,” Skjold said.
The report indicates that ALICE households have been disproportionately affected by inflation, with 62% of all surveyed households reporting inflation as very or somewhat stressful, ALICE households being twice as likely to describe it as very stressful and 73% of surveyed families reporting changes to their spending due to rising costs.
ALICE families have had to take extreme measures to make ends meet, with data showing a significant increase in reliance on friends and family, overdrawing deposit accounts and taking out loans between 2022 and 2024.
“Over half a million people in Hawaii are struggling just to get by, and as we continue to see these types of trends, we are worried about losing our workforce, local families struggling and potentially leaving Hawaii,” Skjold said.
While all other counties have seen a decrease in the share of households below the ALICE threshold, Maui County experienced an increase, with a majority of households currently below the threshold, as the island continues to recover from the devastating wildfires of Aug. 8, 2023, which destroyed over 2,000 structures and homes and claimed over 100 lives.
Households in Maui County are more likely than those statewide to have spent more than their income in the past 12 months, with 30% of Maui households reporting this, compared with 24% statewide.
Additionally, 88% of Maui households had to draw down savings to cover expenses when spending exceeded income, compared with 76% statewide.
A higher percentage of households on Maui, 13%, report having more debt than is manageable, compared with 8% statewide, and 11% of households on Maui receive assistance from a community agency or faith organization, while only 5% of households statewide do.
Furthermore, 70% of Maui residents at the time of the wildfires experienced a personal loss, financial hardship or health issue due to the disaster, highlighting the need for continued support not only for survivors, but also for the community as a whole.
Households affected by the wildfires face significantly more financial and other challenges than those that were not affected, with noticeable differences in their current financial situation and outlook for the future.
Bank of Hawaii CEO Peter Ho told the Honolulu Star- Advertiser that, according to the Housing Affordability Index, the affordability of single-family homes has dropped to about half of what it was in 2000, while condominiums are slightly better but still just above half of their 2000 affordability.
He noted that incomes have not kept pace with rising housing costs, and while much of the focus has been on the expenditure side of the budget, the revenue side, particularly income, also must be addressed.
Ho further explained that employment in Hawaii peaked in 2019 and has been declining over the past five to six years, partly due to a shrinking population.
He also pointed out that major economic drivers, such as the visitor industry, have been neutral, with real revenue from tourism peaking in 1989 and struggling to grow since then. Despite the challenges on the expense side, Ho emphasized that the income side faces significant difficulties as well.
Proponents, including community leaders and workforce development advocates, suggest that increasing efforts to help those in need, especially single mothers and dual-income families, transition into higher-paying jobs is crucial.
By providing training and preparation, they believe, the challenges of the high cost of housing can be addressed.
While the issue has persisted, advocates note that over the past 20 years, incomes have not kept up with rising costs. However, higher-paying jobs are available, and the key is moving people into higher education, skill development and better-paying positions, as opportunities exist.
The report underscores the urgent need for action in several areas, including streamlining access to government aid and enhancing short-term emergency financial assistance for ALICE households.
It calls for ensuring housing availability, supporting family caregivers with paid family leave and paid sick leave and increasing mental health resources statewide, recommending aligning state tax credits to benefit ALICE households, developing debt reduction programs and investing in safety net initiatives for basic needs like food, housing and health care.
Additionally, it advocates for transforming benefits programs to remove “benefits cliffs” and incentivize financial advancement.
