Hundreds of thousands of Miami-Dade households were incapable of making ends meet, according to the most recent available data from United Way.
According to the 2026 State of ALICE in Florida report, which analyzes data from 2024, 155,328 households in Miami-Dade County were considered to be in poverty, up from 145,803 in 2023. Additionally, 408,619 households met the requirements for ALICE, an increase from 381,666 the year prior — the acronym stands for “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.” It refers to “households that earn more than the federal poverty level, but less than the basic cost of living for the county.”
Forty-one percent of households in Miami-Dade County were ALICE households, compared to the state average of 34%. Fifteen percent were in poverty, compared to the state average of 12%.
Within the county, there was also significant variation among ZIP codes. The percentage of households below the ALICE threshold — which includes ALICE households and those in poverty — ranged from 83% in ZIP code 33142, which serves parts of Brownsville, and ZIP code 33128, which encompasses parts of Downtown, to just 15% in ZIP code 33158, which serves parts of Deering Bay.
What Miami-Dade’s ‘Survival Budget’ Actually Looks Like
United Way’s household survival budget “reflects the minimum cost to live and work in the current economy and includes housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, technology, and taxes.” It does not include emergency savings or contributions to college or retirement. Household costs in “every county in Florida were well above the federal poverty level” in 2024, which is $15,060 for a single adult and $31,200 for a family of four.
In 2024 in Miami-Dade County, housing for a single adult cost $1,892 per month, food $549, transportation $424, and health care $189 — the monthly total, factoring in additional expenses, came to $3,982. The required hourly wage for a single adult came to $23.89, according to United Way’s household survival budget for the region. For multiple adults with children, housing, food, and transportation costs all increased, with the added burden of child care.
Source: United Way’s 2026 State of ALICE in Florida report, based on 2024 data.
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