Working full time is no longer enough to guarantee financial stability for a significant share of Maryland households.

A newly released ALICE report found that 39% of households in the state were either living below the federal poverty level or classified as Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. These households earn income and often work full time, but still cannot consistently afford housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, technology and other basic expenses.

The findings offer a broader warning for working families across the country: earning above the official poverty line does not necessarily mean a household can afford the actual cost of living.

What Happened?

According to reporting from AFRO American Newspapers, 694,650 Maryland households were considered ALICE in 2024.

The report estimates that a single adult needed an annual income of $42,120 to cover essential expenses. That was more than two-and-a-half times the federal poverty threshold of $15,960 for one person.

The gap was even larger for families.

A Maryland family of four needed approximately $108,192 a year just to meet its basic household survival budget. By comparison, two full-time workers employed as a cook and a bank teller would collectively earn an estimated $75,129—more than $33,000 below what the household would need.

Even after Maryland increased its minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2024, the report found that a full-time minimum-wage worker with one school-age child could not afford the basics in any county in the state.