Best Reports

BEST- Basic Economic Security Tables, is an income sufficiency standard that includes asset building components for various family configurations at a local geographic level. The BEST index measures the income required for workers to make ends meet and save. It quantifies the value of employment-based benefits, it is a de facto definition of good incomes and good jobs, a starting point for the policymakers, advocates, researchers and service providers who help build stability.

Our Partner in the development of BEST, Wider Opportunities for Women, has developed the economic security database that includes BEST data from 16 states, and also provides access to WOW's Elder Index for all counties in all states.

The database provides much easier access to Alabama's BEST, and allow the user to:

• Find an index for a location and family type
• Compare their own families expenses to the local BEST Index
• Compare indexes or single expenses across locations and family types
• Download national, state, county and city index data

To access the database, CLICK HERE. Registration is required, but there is no charge to utilize the database.

CLICK HERE for the Executive Summary of Alabama's BEST.

CLICK HERE to see the full report - The full report contains tables for 4 family configurations.

CLICK HERE to see all families - The all families report reflects over 400 family configurations for each jurisdiction, and provides the data for jobs with and without benefits.**Requires Microsoft Excel**

Click on a county below for a county-specific summary of what it takes to make ends meet and save.