U.S. States with the Most Homeless People

Less than 4,000 homeless in Chicago's metro area of 10 million? Less than 4,000 people squatting in abandoned, windowless, unheated, unlit houses in Detroit? 4,500 of New York City's 8.7 million, let alone the other 11 million in NY State?

Only 12 people living in their cars in North Dakota? People breaking up in a relationship, the great influx of oil workers with a housing shortage in small towns. There must be more than 12 people a day camping behind the wheel or in a tent because they don't have a permanent place.

I can personally visualize about 25-30% of my state's homeless population. If I really made the effort across the entire state I'm sure I could tally the low number by myself.

I think this is probably it. I've been to lots of cities around the US, and the one where the homeless seemed the most "at home" was Portland, by far. They seemed to have more resources handy, and the average citizen did not seem to blanch at their presence the way people often do elsewhere.

Florida is a swing state, like Colorado. Texas has a warm climate, so it is easier to be homeless as opposed to somewhere like New York, Colorado or Washington.

I was surprised how high the Democratic vote is in Texas so it could be it's more "liberal" than other states.

The Austin area is pretty liberal, isn't it?

Except Texas has almost 3/4 of the population of California yet barely 1/10 of the homeless. Florida too has half the population yet a little more than 1/10 of the homeless. Both also have a climate where someone won't freeze to death in winter.

I lived for a few years in Arkansas and I saw no more "dilapidated trailers" there than in any of the other 41 states I've been in. That sounded very disdainful, Kalba. No one has pointed out that half of these are the states with the highest populations. Unless the figures are per capita, then one would expect those numbers to be higher. One would also expect the numbers to be higher in warmer climates. That only leaves WA, OR, and CO, and I have no idea why their numbers are higher.

Really? I drove through Arkansas and was shocked at just how true the stereotypes seemed to be. Kept passing by houses with rusted out trucks trucks sawed in half sitting out on the lawn and other assorted things you might expect to see. But anyway I wasn't saying everyone in Arkansas lives in a dilapidated trailer (any more than I would say that everyone in California is homeless). I was saying, or implying, that it's cheaper to find some (barely liveable) form of shelter in some places, that in those places you are very likely to be at or near the bottom of the list of US states that provide adequate public services or any kind of reasonable healthcare (even though it is also in those states that more people are likely to need or rely upon those services), but that doesn't show up on this quiz because if your domicile is a mansion or a shed in your brother's back yard you still don't count as homeless.

re: population yes I thought that was pretty obvious. I did mention large urban centers. States with high populations tend to have big cities in them, too.

It seems like a dilapidated trailer would be preferable to the way many homeless are living in California.

I had totally forgotten that I actually lived a few months in a "dilapidated" trailer in Arkansas. When I was first married we were still in college and we spent our first few months living in married student housing which at our university consisted of narrow streets of 10' x 30' old trailers with a sidewalk and narrow strip of grass between them. It was pretty bad, but we were newlyweds and at first we didn't care. The wiring was bad in our trailer and they never seemed to get around to fixing it. One morning I woke up smelling smoke. I traced it to the bathroom where one of our bath towels was smoldering at the end of the metal towel rod it was hanging on. I assumed some type of short had caused it. I told my husband that was it for me in the trailer, and he took a second job and we soon moved off campus to a nice duplex in the country. Young love couldn't top my fear of death from remaining in that fire trap. We drove through 10 yrs later and that same trailer #13 was still there.

Better climate maybe?

Having actually spoken with a number of homeless people in northern California, I think tolerance of homelessness is one of the main reasons they are here. I've heard a few of these dear people say they came here for the services, but many of them will tell you they like California because nobody will bother them. I currently live in an agricultural area that offers exactly zero social services, but our creeks and greenbelts are lined with homeless encampments for miles.

It's the middle class that doesn't live there. Only the rich and the poor.

AND for having one of the nicest climates in the country!

...having the highest economy