More Manatee County families, seniors are struggling with bills, report says. Here’s why

A new report shows that more families and seniors in Manatee County are struggling to make ends meet.

Local living expenses are on the rise in Manatee County and higher wages don’t always solve the problem, according to the latest United Way’s ALICE report, which provides a snapshot of economic challenges in the area.

ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. ALICE households earn more than the federal poverty level, but less than the basic cost of living for the county. The report gives an idea of how many people in Manatee County are living paycheck-to-paycheck.

According to the latest data, more families are having trouble with the cost of living. In 2022, the most recent year data was available, 77,821 households, or 44%, were below the ALICE threshold, up 3% from the year before, according to the report.

From 2021 to 2022, household costs for a single adult in Manatee County increased from $29,412 to $31,704, the report said. For a family of four with an infant and a preschooler, the budget increased by much more — from $72,252 to $88,800.

In 2022, 48% of 65 and older households were below the ALICE threshold, according to the report.

“It should be concerning because typically when we think of a family that’s struggling, we’re not thinking of somebody who’s making $75,000,” said Doug Griesenauer, vice president of community impact for United Way Suncoast. “But a lot of these households, especially these households with kids, do need more than that in order to get by.”

Griesenauer said inflation and the end of pandemic-era benefits led to greater expenses for low- to moderate-income families. He said their biggest expenses were food, childcare and housing.

“We know that rents have gone down by about $100, which isn’t bad, but they’re still a good $300 more than what they were before everything peaked in 2021,” Griesenauer said. “And so, even with rents going down, they’re not low.”

Rising childcare costs in Bradenton area

Darrell King, CEO of the Early Learning Coalition of Manatee County, said high childcare costs are a burden on families who need a safe place to drop off their children before work.

“If we have too many families struggling from paycheck to paycheck, then it’s never good for the local economy,” said King. “You need to have people out there working and making a decent living.”

As pandemic assistance wound down, wages increased for most low-wage jobs in Florida, the report said. That meant some families no longer qualified for the ELC’s school readiness program. King said its top legislative priority is to lobby and campaign for lawmakers to increase the threshold so more families can enroll in the program.

“Some of the families who normally would’ve qualified for the school readiness program are not qualifying anymore,” King said. “They’re getting knocked out of the program. These are families who need it the most. These are not high-income families. These are families who may be making a few more dollars an hour.”

Manatee seniors struggle on fixed income

Tracie Adams, deputy director of the county’s community and veterans services department, said most seniors in Manatee County are on a fixed income, but their expenses keep going up.

“We have a lot of seniors struggling out there,” Adams said. “Retirement isn’t always the golden years for many people.”

She pointed out that their needs are often overlooked.

“People automatically think of families in need of housing,” Adams said. “But nobody’s thinking about the 75- or 80-year-old who has lost their spouse, they’re on a limited income, they have no family left or they’re estranged from their family.”

Adams said many seniors are struggling because the cost of food, medication and housing has gone up. She pointed out that some seniors have seen their savings go faster because of inflation.

“An unfortunate trend that we’re seeing now that we haven’t before is we’re getting calls from seniors or their family members that they’re being evicted,” Adams said. “They’re being evicted because they can’t afford to pay these increases in rent, and they have nowhere else to go.”