May 9—LA GRANDE — Between 2019 and 2021 Union County lost more than 170 households and saw a slight increase in the number of households who were financially insecure.
According to data from United Ways of the Pacific Northwest and United for ALICE, 44% (or 744,895) of Oregonians in 2021 could be classified as ALICE, which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed. Oregonians who were classified as ALICE earned above the federal poverty level, so they did not qualify for government assistance programs, but they also could not pay for all their monthly bills and essentials.
(United for ALICE is a spinoff nonprofit organization led by United Way of Northern New Jersey that now is active in about half of the states, including Oregon.)
Of the 10,536 households in Union County in 2021, 1,600 were at the poverty level, 2,976 were classified as ALICE, and 5,960 were above the ALICE threshold.
Cove had 935 households in 2021 and 32% fell below the ALICE threshold. Elgin had 1,309 households, with 40% below ALICE. Of La Grande's 6,879 households, 47% were below ALICE. Union had 1,384 households and 38% were below ALICE.
Union County has a poverty rate of 15%, while the state average is 11%.
Union County occupation and income averages
The average annual household income for Union County in 2021 was $55,227, while the state average was $71,562.
The most common jobs in Oregon, according to the report, were fast-food workers at 53,030 jobs. Of these jobs, the average wage was $13.95 an hour, and 46% of these workers are below the ALICE threshold.
The least common jobs in Oregon were general maintenance and repair workers at 16,510 jobs. Of these jobs, the average wage was $21.52 an hour, with 31% below the ALICE threshold.
Thresholds by race and ethnicity in Union County
There is an unequal distribution of financial hardship in Union County between race and ethnicities, according to the report.
Of the 9,498 white households in Union County, 5,408 were above the ALICE threshold, 2,236 were in the ALICE category and 854 were in the poverty category.
In the 146 African American households, 37 were in the ALICE category and 109 were at or below the poverty level.
There were 351 Hispanic households. Of those, 199 were above the ALICE threshold, 90 were in the ALICE category, and 62 were in the poverty category.
Employment status and
survival budgets
In 2021, 20.3% of people in Union County were retired, 22% were not in the labor force, 3.7% were unemployed, 5.1% were part-time salary, 13.7% were part-time hourly, 17.3% were full-time hourly and 18.0% were full-time salary.