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New report: It’s getting hard to ‘make ends meet’ in Pinellas
In Pinellas County, the “survival budget” for a family of four surged 9% to $108,480 – the highest in Florida, according to a new study released by the United Way Suncoast.
That study, “The State of ALICE in Florida,” looked at the financial prospects of local households focusing on “ALICE” households: “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed.” This attempts to measure families who are not captured by poverty statistics but are nevertheless struggling to make the money they need to keep up their households.
“These are a group of people who have jobs and who earn income above the federal poverty line but still struggle to make ends meet,” according to Ernest Hooper, a spokesman for The United Way Suncoast.
Read the 2025 State of ALICE in Florida report at the United Way Suncoast’s website.
The “survival budget” the study examines applies to families of four – including two children in child care – which reflects the minimum cost to live and work in each county, including housing, child care, food, transportation, healthcare and a basic smartphone plan. In Pinellas that amount is more than $30,000 above the median household income.
As a result, 32% of households in Pinellas are ALICE families living largely paycheck-to-paycheck; added to those below the poverty line, 46% of families are not making enough to both afford necessities and cover potential emergencies.
“A major car repair or a health challenge can have these families choosing between paying the rent and paying the utilities,” said Hooper. “While we’ve had wage increases, they simply haven’t kept pace with prices.”
Thirteen of the top 20 occupations in Florida had average hourly pay below $20 an hour. These include waiters, drivers, maintenance personnel, janitors, service personnel at retail establishments such as grocery and home improvement stores, and even some first responders. Many are at-will employees and worked in person through the COVID pandemic when the rest of the economy shut down.
The study pinpoints housing costs, especially rent increases; inflation; and the cost of child care as the biggest contributors to these families’ struggles.
Hooper highlighted that the impacts go far beyond the families involved, noting that net migration to Florida as a whole has sharply decreased in 2024, especially amongst young professionals.
Locally, Manatee County grew by 6.4% while Pinellas only grew by .4%; many of these are likely to be ALICE families from Pinellas who now have to commute to work and will be at risk of moving to a new job closer to home.
“Everyday workers will begin to move away,” said Hooper, noting the possibility that that further increases Pinellas labor costs, driving prices still higher in a vicious cycle. “It hurts our economy; it hurts our labor force; it makes Florida less desirable.”
“The ALICE report shows what many Pinellas families already know – it’s getting harder to make ends meet,” agreed County Commissioner Kathleen Peters (R). “That’s why we’re committed to fiscal discipline at the county level, keeping taxes low and spending smart to avoid adding to the burden residents are feeling.”
The City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County have both highlighted affordability as priorities. St. Petersburg recently greenlit $4.5 million in public funding for the Skytown Apartments, which will add 120 units of affordable housing, and both the City and County funded the Bayou Court Apartments, which is entirely priced below 120% of area AMI. Mayor Ken Welch has made affordable housing a centerpiece of his administration, noting recently that the City spent more American Rescue Plan funds on affordable housing than any other community.
During the Skytown Apartments discussion, Councilmember Richie Floyd questioned whether enough was being done, highlighting that $2,800/month for a 2-bedroom apartment was considered “affordable” under the 120% AMI standard. Floyd later joined the unanimous vote for the funding.
Other community leaders claimed better solutions are available. “We’ve attempted fixes like the Sankofa Project, but you need immediate impact and meaningful impact,” said former Councilmember Robert Blackmon, who ran against Welch in 2021. “With the cost of new construction, I still believe that acquisition of existing units puts families in homes quickly and lowers overall payments for working class families.”
Hooper highlighted the impact of non-profits like the United Way, including on improvements to childcare infrastructure, giving free tax preparation for households making under $78,000/year, and $1.2 million in disaster recovery grants that have impacted 148,000 area residents since last year.
Still, much more needed to be done amidst the rise in costs for Pinellas families. Hooper encouraged local stakeholders to read the report and “really look at all the data related to this class of folks who often go overlooked.”
“There’s no silver bullets.”
Pinellas households struggling financially continue to grow. Courtesy: United Way Suncoast, State of ALICE in Florida report.
Lisa Marie Ash
May 18, 2025at7:57 pm
No kidding…the people who work here cant afford to live here. People who HAVE lived here can no longer keep their homes. Seniors, those on fixed income are totally hosed.
Jennifer
May 18, 2025at7:42 pm
Getting hard to make ends meet? Where have you been? I have been a hair away from homeless for 3 years now.
J.G. West
May 18, 2025at3:34 pm
Let’s see if St. Pete Catalyst allows my comment this time…
How many jobs in Pinellas County pay over $52.00 a year? A 40-hour work week is 2080 hours a year. Do the math.
We need to be more efficient and productive with our tax dollars, and encourage property owners (landlords) to hold the line on price increases.
Melody Kies
May 17, 2025at12:45 pm
$2,800 a month is out of reach for many people including myself , you add in child care a car payment etc etc , I think if you make $50,00 a year or less your rent should be under $2000 a month $25,000 or less under $1000 a month shouldn’t have to make choices between rent , food , utilities it’s really hard to make it in Pinellas county and I’ve lived here since 1971 .
Terry
May 17, 2025at12:29 pm
What’s the tips for people that are making $1,400 on social security a month living in a section 8 housing 75 years of age no other income and struggling to pay doctor bills and making this crazy life work
Richard W.
May 17, 2025at9:23 am
Didn’t Peters just propose raising taxes in Tierra Verde?
Ryan
May 17, 2025at6:23 am
How is this news to anyone?
Richard Lennox
May 16, 2025at8:27 pm
When I was young, St Pete was a retirement community, it’s best days behind it, the butt of jokes. Over the decades, investment came and it rebounded. It became an up and coming city instead, and by the early 2000s, people (including myself) were flipping houses at an enormous markup. It was around this time I predicted to friends that one day it would be like Manhattan; a shining gem, but unsustainable for “normal” people. And here we are.