Hawaiʻi ‘survival budget’ hits $104,052, report finds

A new Aloha United Way report on Hawaiʻi families experiencing financial instability estimated the annual “household survival budget” for a family of four in 2021 at $104,052. That’s up 15 percent from 2018 when the amount needed to cover essentials such as housing, food and health care was placed at $90,828.

The 2021 figure drops to $85,812 when assorted earned income and child tax credits are factored in, underscoring “the significant impacts tax credits can have on a household’s bottom line,” according to a news release announcing the findings of the “ALICE in the Crosscurrents: COVID and Financial Hardship in Hawaiʻi” report.

The “Crosscurrents” report is based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey, the first such data available since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and “ALICE in Hawaiʻi: 2022 Facts &Figures,” released in December. It was prepared by AUW, the national United for ALICE and a research advisory committee whose members include officials with the University of Hawaiʻi Center on the Family, the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice and the Hawaiʻi Medical Service Association.