BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The number of households in Washington state struggling to afford basic necessities surpassed a milestone during the pandemic.

In a new study, United Way of Whatcom County said that over a million households reported having difficulties making ends meet between 2019 and 2021.

United Way especially looked at families that fell under the “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed” threshold for this study, otherwise known as ALICE.

Households that fell below the ALICE threshold had an income above the federal poverty level, but still did not make enough to cover basic costs for their families.

In Whatcom County, nearly 36,000 households either reported being in poverty or falling below the ALICE threshold.

The study added that despite a greater availability of pandemic-era credits and stimulus payments, those families were still unable to accrue savings or fell into deeper financial hardship.