Earning above the federal poverty line does not necessarily mean having enough to cover basic needs.
In Texas' Bexar County, 29% of residents fall into that gap, earning incomes that still leave necessities such as food and housing out of reach, according to KSAT.
Here's what to know
A report from San Antonio's Department of Human Services found that 44% of people in Bexar County cannot afford basic necessities.
That figure includes residents living in poverty and those earning above the federal cutoff whose incomes cannot cover essential expenses.
The report placed the county's poverty rate at 15%. Within San Antonio, the rate was higher, at 17%. Those rates are based on the Census Bureau's official poverty benchmark, set at $16,320 in 2024 for an individual under age 65.
Yet residents earning above that threshold often remain ineligible for federal aid, even when they cannot afford necessities.
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More background
The report's ZIP code map showed concentrations of poverty within Loop 410 and across San Antonio's southern areas, identifying areas where poverty rates exceeded 20%.
While the poverty rate among children fell slightly, poverty increased among people age 65 and above.
The burden of poverty also fell disproportionately on women, residents with disabilities, and Black or American Indian residents.
The report found that 24% of employed adults still fell below the poverty cutoff.
For households seeing only slow salary growth, rising costs meant more strain on their budgets, the report indicated.
What's being done?
To measure financial hardship beyond the federal poverty cutoff, United Way developed a separate benchmark known as ALICE, an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
San Antonio's report used that measure to identify county residents — 29% of the total — who earned too much to be classified as poor yet could not meet basic costs, KSAT explained.
Using the ALICE threshold alongside the Census Bureau's measure allows the report to account for residents who would otherwise be left out of official poverty figures.
Under the threshold used in the report, two adults raising three children would fall outside the poverty count if their annual family income reached $37,437.
Where can I learn more?
Families across Texas and the country face similar struggles to pay for housing, food, and utilities. These stories examine skipped meals, late rent payments, exorbitant energy bills, and growing gaps in food assistance.
• Texas families are skipping meals and accruing debt as food prices outpace incomes.
• Across the U.S., middle-income renters led the jump in late rent payments in 2025.
• Texas seniors are rationing air conditioning overnight as heat and power bills threaten lives.
• Texas food banks say they cannot replace food assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as federal rules shift costs.
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