Farmington Valley: Meet Your Neighbor

Farmington Valley: Meet Your Neighbor

Brought to you by the businesses and people who care about the health and welfare of Farmington Valley Communities: Farmington, Avon, Simsbury, Canton and Granby

Farmington Valley is a great place to live and work – because we care about our neighbors!

This report is sponsored by local businesses who deeply care about our community. Farmington Valley residents are more than our customers — they are neighbors, friends, caregivers who want their community to be a place where everyone has an opportunity to thrive. Connecticut is a state that is filled with opportunities and yet our cost of living continues to outpace earnings for many workers. In this report, you will learn more from United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut about the challenges facing Farmington Valley residents, how you can help and where to get help.

Farmington Valley Community Snapshot

COMMUNITY	EMPLOYED	ABOVE POVERTY LINE*	HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA
AVON	96%	96%	97%
CANTON	96%	96%	96%
FARMINGTON	96%	95%	96%
GRANBY	97%	98%	97%
SIMSBURY	96%	98%	97%
STATE OF CT	93%	89%	87%

*The poverty level for a household of four in 2021 is an annual income of $26,500 . To get the poverty level for larger families, add $4,540 for each additional person in the household. For smaller families, subtract $4,540 per person.

Connecticut showed steady economic improvements over the last decade according to traditional measures, i.e. unemployment in the state and across the U.S. fell to historic lows, GDP grew, and wages rose . Yet 22% of Farmington Valley households still struggle to make ends meet ten years after the Great Recession – even before the pandemic began. And while the number of families living below the Federal Poverty Level – often qualifying for government subsidies – is low compared to other nearby towns/cities, many of our neighbors are barely making ends meet – due to a high cost of living and limited employment opportunities in the area. Eight years ago, United Way published the first ALICE Report. ALICE is a United Way-coined acronym that stands for Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed and describes a growing population of families who are living above the Federal Poverty Level but below the basic cost of living threshold in Connecticut.

Are There Sufficient Employment Opportunities in The Farmington Valley?

What Percentage of Households in the Farmington Valley Make Less Than the Bare Minimum Needed to Live in These Communities?

The percentage of households in CT who cannot make ends meet has steadily increased over the last decade – from 20% to 27% – a 40% increase!

The cost-of-living is based on what it would cost to cover the most basic essentials to survive for a single adult, a senior (over 65) and a family of 4 with 2 children under the age of five.

See ALICE Report

Compare Other Local Communities

COMMUNITY	NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS	PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLDS WHO MAKE LESS THAN THE COST-OF-LIVING
AVON	6,968	20%
CANTON	4,076	24%
FARMINGTON	10,455	26%
GRANBY	4,193	14%
SIMSBURY	9,279	20%

Percentage of Owner-Occupied vs Renter-Occupied Homes in Farmington Valley

TOWNS	OCCUPIED HOUSING UNITS	OWNER-OCCUPIED	RENTER-OCCUPIED	PERCENT OWNER-OCCUPIED	% RENTER-OCCUPIED
AVON	6,977	5,810	1,167	83%	17%
CANTON	4,046	3,220	826	80%	20%
FARMINGTON	10,463	7,639	2,824	73%	27%
GRANBY	4,147	3,744	403	90%	10%
SIMSBURY	9,583	7,587	1,996	79%	21%

What Does it Cost to Live In Farmington Valley?

MONTHLY COSTS	SINGLE ADULT	ONE SENIOR	FAMILY
HOUSING	$883	$883	$1,310
CHILDCARE			$1,857
FOOD	$309	$263	$936
TRANSPORTATION	$357	$311	$826
HEALTH CARE	$222	$519	$742
TECHNOLOGY	$55	$55	$75
MISCELLANEOUS	$219	$241	$687
TAXES	$364	$374	$1,122
MONTHLY TOTAL	$2,409	$2,646	$7,555
ANNUAL TOTAL	$28,908	$31,752	$90,660
HOURLY WAGE	$14.45	$15.88	$45.33

More About the Cost of Childcare

That is not a typo: it really costs $90,660 a year to support a family of four. So it’s not surprising that the largest proportion of people who are struggling financially are families with young children. See [link] for more details. Most ALICE families hold jobs (sometimes multiple) that are essential to our economy that pay enough to get by paycheck to paycheck, but not enough to be financially stable and too much to qualify for government subsidies.See [link] for additional analysis.

A senior (over 65) needs almost $32,000 to live in the Farmington Valley, yet average social security income is only $18,000 a year. That is why almost 50% of seniors struggle to make ends meet. With more than one-third of the population over age 50, CT is the 7^th oldest state in the US.

Rent: One of the most significant expenses in the Survival Budget above is housing – which is projected to go up. In fact, one of the most frequent calls to United Way’s 2-1-1 Helpline is for rental assistance. While almost all United Way helpline inquiries result in providing callers with the information they need, calls asking for assistance with rent in many cases cannot be fulfilled. See [link] for 2-1-1 Counts data reflecting calls made by residents in Farmington Valley Communities asking for rent assistance.

Child Care: High quality, affordable childcare, especially for infants and toddlers, is hard to find. Compounding the problem, childcare workers earn a median hourly wage of $12.37 an hour – which does not provide enough income to make ends meet.

34% of Farmington Valley adults are not in the labor because they are:

Retired: an increasing population as baby boomers are now reaching retirement age;
Students: account for 42% of adults who are out of the workforce;
Disabled: See [link] for more details.
Other considerations for under-employment are limited access to transportation and affordable childcare; and caregiving responsibilities

4% are unemployed.

38% are employed in hourly-pay jobs. These types of jobs vary in the number of hours worked and often schedules change – making it difficult to predict income from week to week and schedule for childcare, etc. Moreover, hourly jobs are less likely to include health insurance, paid time off, family leave or retirement benefits – especially if they work less than 30 hours a week. Moreover, employment opportunities for hourly-pay jobs grew by 34% over the last decade, while opportunities for salaried employment and hourly jobs that include benefits diminished. For a detailed analysis of this issue see [link].

Retired, Students, or Disabled
Unemployed
Employed - Hourly
Employed - salary

ALICE in Farmington Valley

Essential Workers: They often work as cashiers, nursing assistants, caregivers, office clerks, servers, laborers, and security guards. These types of jobs are vital to keeping Connecticut’s economy running smoothly, but they typically do not provide adequate wages to cover the essentials. In our emerging “gig economy” income shortfalls are addressed through a wide variety of contingent, temporary, and freelance work — such as ride-sharing or on-demand delivery. These wages, while critical for families, can often be inconsistent, making it difficult to budget and plan for the long-term. In fact, nearly 50% of working adults have a side gig outside their primary job. See [link] for additional details.

Disparate Impact of Economic Forces: A disproportionally higher percentage of households in the following categories struggle to make ends meet:

BLACK 60%

HISPANIC 66%

SINGLE FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS 66%

YOUNG HOUSEHOLDS XX%

What are We Doing to Support Our Neighbors in Need?

There are many programs designed to support Farmington Valley households that are struggling financially; including social services provided by Town Governments, support from civic organizations (e.g. Lyons, Rotary, etc.), the Chamber of Commerce, School Districts, and charities like the United Way of Central and Northeastern CT.

United Way works in two ways: by participating in partnerships on systemic issues that impact the underlying causes of financial instability in the Farmington Valley, as well as supporting programs that help individuals obtain and retain jobs that offer family sustaining wages and career advancement; increase their financial capability to achieve short and long-term financial goals; and have access to immediate emergency assistance – such as 2-1-1 – connecting those in need with the support they need.

United Way is all about connecting people who need help with the right resources and people who want to help with meaningful ways to do so.

If you are struggling to make ends meet or are in need of support, you are not alone. One in three families in our region are currently struggling to make ends meet. Call United Way 2-1-1 today to find support for affordable childcare, healthy food, financial education programs and much more.

Get Involved!

The businesses sponsoring this report have joined United Way’s Small Business Roundtable group in support of the United for ALICE initiative. Through United for ALICE, we invest in programs and services that directly impact the budgets of ALICE families by: giving children access to quality childcare and providing opportunities for financial education while helping people get good jobs with opportunities for career advancement.

Thank You to Our Supporters!

We realize that you may have a number of questions related to the issues covered in this report, so we have an appendix providing links to the publications that answer these questions.

The residents of the Farmington Valley greatly appreciate the sponsors of this report – who are worthy of your patronage.

The following is an alphabetical list of the sponsors, followed by an advertising supplement.