State of the Georgia Girl Report

Poverty & Financial Hardship

Georgia has experienced a net decline in the number of youth living below the federal poverty line over the last five years, but this is a complicated measure of success. In 2019, 1 in 5 girls (19%) in Georgia lived below the poverty line. By 2024, the rate had improved to 1 in 6 girls (16%), a reduction of nearly 30,000 girls living in poverty across the state.

The portion of girls living in poverty declined by 3 points in 5 years.

U.S. Census, ACS 1-Year Estimates, Tables B17001, 2019 and 2024, Georgia

Poverty Status of Georgia Girls, 2019 vs 2024

1,020,604

963,048

DEMOGRAPHICS OF GEORGIA GIRLS

229,954

197,881

19%

16%

2019

2024

Below Poverty Line

At or Above Poverty Line

Poverty Rate

ALICE Threshold vs Federal Poverty Level, Georgia, 2024, Family of Four

Living above the poverty threshold does not indicate affordability of basic needs, according to groups like United for ALICE. ALICE, an acronym to describe households earning above the federal poverty level but not enough to afford basic expenses, described an additional 30% of households in Georgia in 2024 that did not have enough income to meet basic needs (United for ALICE, 2024). These households are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, yet Employed. Accounting for broader expenses such as housing, childcare, and transportation, the ALICE Essentials Index is argued to be more representative of the economic realities of today’s families. In Georgia, 44% of households were below the ALICE Threshold in 2024, higher than the national average at 41%, placing Georgia 43rd among all states for financial hardship. The Federal Poverty Level methodology has not been updated since the 1960s, so improvements against this measurement are viewed as obsolete while a growing portion of families in Georgia are falling into the affordability trap of rising costs and stagnant wages.

Health Care, $8,424 Tech, $1,692 Misc., $6,444 Taxes, $6,660 Total, $77,568

Transport $10,176

Food $15,300

$31,200

Child Care $13,944

Housing $14,928

Household Survival Budget

Federal Poverty Level

ALICE Household Survival Budget, United for ALICE. U.S. Census, Federal Poverty Measure.

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THE 2026 STATE OF THE GEORGIA GIRL REPORT