42 Percent of Ripon Households are Alice

RIPON, Wis. (WRPN) – The 2025 ALICE Report was recently issued. It’s prepared every two years for the United Way. ALICE is an acronym for Asset Limited Income Constrained and Employed.

Fond du Lac County United Way Executive Director Amber Kilawee says sometimes those are people referred to as the “working poor,” but it is an unfair assessment. She says really, they are hardworking people taking on multiple jobs to make ends meet. But they fall through the cracks not qualifying for state and federal safety net programs.

In Fond du Lac County, 24 percent of households are considered ALICE and 41 percent in the city of Fond du Lac. Kilawee says in Ripon the number of ALICE households is similar. She says the ALICE number in Ripon is 42 percent of households and in the town of Ripon 26 percent are at the ALICE threshold.

She says the way people can help is to donate to organizations that provide services to those who are struggling, advocate for programs that help the poor, and volunteer.

To see a copy of the report go to FDL United Way.org.