Cincinnati sits at the corner of three states — Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana — and its homeless population reflects that geography. People experiencing homelessness in the Cincinnati metro cross state lines regularly, and the services available to them depend entirely on which side of the Ohio River they’re standing on. The city of Cincinnati and … Read more
Wisconsin has over 4,500 people experiencing homelessness on any given night, with Milwaukee accounting for the largest share. But homelessness in Wisconsin spans well beyond Milwaukee — Madison, Green Bay, Racine, Kenosha, and smaller cities all face significant housing instability, while rural northern Wisconsin counties have some of the least-resourced homeless service systems in the … Read more
Colorado has over 14,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night — one of the highest rates per capita in the country. Denver accounts for the largest share, but Colorado Springs, Boulder, Fort Collins, Pueblo, and resort communities like Aspen and Vail all face significant homelessness driven by a severe shortage of affordable housing and … Read more
St. Louis has one of the most complex homeless services landscapes in the Midwest — not because the city is especially large, but because of a governance quirk that shapes everything about how services work here: St. Louis City and St. Louis County are entirely separate jurisdictions. St. Louis is an independent city, not part … Read more
Kansas City straddles two states — Missouri and Kansas — and its homeless services system reflects that split geography in ways that matter practically if you’re trying to find a hotel voucher tonight. Where you are standing determines which system applies to you, which CoC coordinates your placement, and which government offices hold the emergency … Read more
Sacramento has one of the highest per-capita homeless rates of any major California city — approximately 9,300 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in Sacramento County, a number that has grown steadily as housing costs have increased while wages for service and government workers have not kept pace. As the state capital, Sacramento sits … Read more
Alaska presents a homelessness challenge unlike any other state. The same features that make Alaska extraordinary — its scale, its remoteness, its climate — make being homeless here acutely dangerous and getting help genuinely difficult. When it is -40°F in Fairbanks in January, the margin between having a place to sleep and dying of exposure … Read more
Wyoming is the least populated state in the United States — about 580,000 people spread across 97,914 square miles. It also has no state income tax, no Medicaid expansion, and one of the leanest social service systems in the country. Approximately 800 people experience homelessness on any given night in Wyoming, but that number hides … Read more
Hawaii has the highest rate of homelessness per capita of any state in the United States. On any given night, approximately 4,500 people are homeless in a state of 1.4 million people — a rate nearly three times the national average. The beaches that draw tourists from around the world are the same places where … Read more
Vermont is one of the few states in the country with an active state-funded motel voucher program for people experiencing homelessness. It is not a metaphor or a sometimes-available local fund — it is a formal state program that has placed thousands of Vermonters in motels, particularly during COVID and its aftermath. Understanding this program … Read more