24-05-2025
Frederick County saw small increase in number of financially struggling households in 2023
The number of households struggling to afford basic necessities in Frederick County slightly increased from 2022 to 2023 by more than 2,400 homes, or by one percentage point, according to new data released by United For ALICE.
Among those that were the most likely to struggle getting these necessities were households under 25 years old, Black and Hispanic households and households headed by single mothers.
In 2023, the percentage of Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) households in Frederick County was 33%, up from 32% in 2022.
ALICE households earn above the federal poverty level but struggle to afford basic necessities and expenses like housing, child care, food, transportation, health care and technology.
United For ALICE releases statewide reports on ALICE communities. The most recently released data showed information on ALICE households for 2023.
The total number of households in Frederick County increased from 104,912 in 2022 to 107,332 in 2023.
During that same time period, the county's median household income dropped from $119,122 in 2022 to $114,360 in 2023, a decrease of nearly four percentage points.
Out of 35,557 households under the ALICE threshold in 2023, 6% of them were also living below the federal poverty level, the same percentage in 2022.
Total households in Frederick County, 2021 to 2023
Ken Oldham, the president and CEO of the United Way of Frederick County, did not respond to requests for comment on the data Friday.
The data on Frederick County specifically is part of a larger data release from United For ALICE on ALICE households in Maryland.
The United Way of Frederick County will release a full localized ALICE report on Sept. 9 at United Way's Leadership Breakfast.
Across the entire state's 2.4 million households, 39% — or 934,715 households — were below the ALICE threshold. Out of that number, 10%, or 236,153 households, were living below the federal poverty line.
Certain demographic groups were more likely to experience financial hardship, according to the statewide report.
Those groups were Black and Hispanic households; households headed by people under 25 or people 65 and older; and households headed by single parents.
Single mothers were much more likely to experience financial hardship compared to single fathers.
In Frederick County, the households that were more likely to be under the ALICE threshold were similar to the ones mentioned in the statewide report.
County-level data can be accessed on United For ALICE's 'Mapping Financial Hardship' tool. The map can be filtered to show ALICE households by age group, race, family type and ZIP code.
Although the number of households headed by people under 25 is the smallest compared to other age groups, the majority of those households — about 85% — were under the ALICE threshold in 2023.
Households headed by people age 65 or older were the second most likely among age groups to be ALICE, at about 43% in 2023.
ALICE Households in 2023 in Frederick County by age group
Percentage of ALICE households in 2023 by age group
Hispanic households were the most likely in the county to be ALICE, followed by Black households.
In 2023, about 45% of Hispanic households and about 42% of Black households were under the ALICE threshold.
About 30% of white households were ALICE as well. However, the total number of white households — just over 75,000 — outnumber 8,861 Hispanic households and 9,963 Black households.
ALICE Households in 2023 in Frederick County by race
Percentage of ALICE households in 2023 by race
Out of four different family types, single mothers were the most likely to be ALICE, with about 76% of those households falling under the ALICE threshold in 2023.
About 47% of households headed by single fathers; about 33% of those headed by single or cohabitating people under 65; and about 13% of married households with children were ALICE in 2023.
ZIP code areas in Frederick County with higher numbers of ALICE households were in the northern parts of the county.
Out of 701 households with the ZIP code 21780 in the Sabillasville area, 59% of them were ALICE. Out of 1,694 households with the ZIP code 21727 in the Emmitsburg area, 46% were ALICE.
At least 37% of households in multiple ZIP codes in and around the city of Frederick — 21702, 21703 and 21701 — were ALICE, as well.
United For ALICE's reports include a metric called the ALICE household survival budget, which reflects the minimum costs of household necessities in Maryland plus taxes, adjusted for different counties and household types.
The federal poverty level value for a single adult was $14,580 in 2023 and $30,000 for a family of four.
In comparison, the ALICE survival budget for a single adult in Frederick County is $49,380, which is more than three times the federal poverty level, and $104,268 for a family of four that doesn't use child care.
For a family of four that does use child care, that survival budget increases to $111,588 — nearly four times the federal poverty level for a family of that size.
