Nationwide 2017 Homeless Count Numbers Broken Down by Region in U.S.

By Joe Colletti | December 11, 2017 | Comments Off on Nationwide 2017 Homeless Count Numbers Broken Down by Region in U.S.

-The Increase in the Pacific States is Significant-
-California is Particularly Noteworthy- 

The U. S. Census Bureau defines four statistical regions in the United States and divides them into nine divisions as outlined in the tables below. Nearly one-third (32.5%) of all the persons who were counted as homeless during the nation-wide 2017 homeless count last January, were counted in Region 4: West; Division 9, which included the states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. 

The following table shows a comparison of the nation-wide 2017 homeless count with the 2016 homeless count for Region 4: West; Division 9, which had a significant increase (10.1%) when compared to all other regional divisions that either had decreases or a slight increase of approximately 1% as noted in the tables below. 

Homeless count numbers were gathered from the Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance Programs Homeless Populations and Subpopulations Reports provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

States highlighted in bold are those that experienced an increase between 2016 and 2017. 

Table 1. Comparison of the total number of persons counted as homeless in 2016 and 2017 in Region 4: West; Division 9: Pacific (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington).

 

2016

2017

Difference

 

 

 

#

%

Alaska

1,940

1,845

-95

-4.9

California

118,142

134,278

+16,136

+13.7

Hawaii

7,921

7,220

-701

-8.8

Oregon

13,238

13,953

+715

+5.4

Washington

20,827

21,112

+285

+1.4

 

 

 

 

 

Total:

162,068

178,408

+16,340

+10.1

 Tables 2 – 9 provide a comparison of the total number of persons counted as homeless in 2016 and 2017 for each of the other regional divisions. 

Table 2. Comparison of the total number of persons counted as homeless in 2016 and 2017 in Region 1: Northeast; Division 1: New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont). 

 

2016

2017

Difference

 

 

 

#

%

Connecticut

3,902

3,388

-514

-13.2

Maine

2,241

2,280

+39

+1.7

Massachusetts

19,608

17,565

-2,043

-10.4

New Hampshire

1,366

1,456

+90

+6.6

Rhode Island

1,160

1,180

+20

+1.7

Vermont

1,117

1,225

+108

+9.7

 

 

 

 

 

Total:

29,394

27,094

-2,300

-7.8

 Table 3. Comparison of the total number of persons counted as homeless in 2016 and 2017 in Region 1: Northeast; Division 2: Mid-Atlantic (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania). 

 

2016

2017

Difference

 

 

 

#

%

New Jersey

8,895

8,536

-359

-4.0

New York

86,352

89,503

+3,151

+3.6

Pennsylvania

15,339

14,138

-1,201

-7.8

 

 

 

 

 

Total:

110,586

112,177

+1,591

+1.4

 Table 4. Comparison of the total number of persons counted as homeless in 2016 and 2017 in Region 2: Midwest; Division 3: East North Central (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin). 

 

2016

2017

Difference

 

 

 

#

%

Illinois

11,590

10,798

-792

-6.8

Indiana

5,798

5,438

-360

-6.2

Michigan

9,316

9,051

-265

-2.8

Ohio

10,404

10,095

-309

-3.0

Wisconsin

5,685

5,027

-658

-11.6

 

 

 

 

 

Total:

42,793

40,409

-2,384

-5.6

 Table 5. Comparison of the total number of persons counted as homeless in 2016 and 2017 in Region 2: Midwest; Division 4: West North Central (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota). 

 

2016

2017

Difference

 

 

 

#

%

Iowa

3,064

2,756

-308

-10.1

Kansas

2,255

2,098

-157

-7.0

Minnesota

7,341

7,668

+327

+4.5

Missouri

6,441

6,226

-215

-3.3

Nebraska

2,754

2,501

-253

-9.2

North Dakota

923

1,089

+166

+18.0

South Dakota

1,072

943

-129

-12.0

 

 

 

 

 

Total:

23,850

23,281

-569

-2.4

 Table 6. Comparison of the total number of persons counted as homeless in 2016 and 2017 in Region 3: South; Division 5: South Atlantic (Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, District of Columbia, and West Virginia). 

 

2016

2017

Difference

 

 

 

#

%

Delaware

1,070

994

-76

-7.1

District of Columbia

8,350

7,473

-877

-10.5

Florida

33,559

32,190

-1,369

-4.1

Georgia

12,909

10,174

-2,735

-21.2

Maryland

7,689

7,247

-442

-5.7

North Carolina

9,559

8,962

-597

-6.2

South Carolina

5,051

3,916

-1,135

-22.5

Virginia

6,268

6,067

-201

-3.2

 West Virgina

 1,337

1,309 

-78 

-5.6 

     

Total:

85,842

78,332

-7,510

-8.7

 Table 7. Comparison of the total number of persons counted as homeless in 2016 and 2017 in Region 3: South; Division 6: East South Central (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee). 

 

2016

2017

Difference

 

 

 

#

%

Alabama

4,111

3,793

-318

-7.7

Kentucky

4,237

4,025

-212

-5.0

Mississippi

1,738

1,472

-266

-15.3

Missouri

6,441

6,226

-215

-3.3

Tennessee

8,779

8,309

-470

-5.4

 

 

 

 

 

Total:

25,306

23,825

-1,481

-5.8

 Table 8. Comparison of the total number of persons counted as homeless in 2016 and 2017 in Region 3: South; Division 7: West South Central (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas). 

 

2016

2017

Difference

 

 

 

#

%

Arkansas

2,463

2,467

+4

+0.2

Louisiana

3,994

3,305

-689

-17.3

Oklahoma

4,107

4,199

+92

+2.2

Texas

23,122

23,548

+426

+1.8

 

 

 

 

 

Total:

33,686

33,519

-167

-0.4

 Table 9. Comparison of the total number of persons counted as homeless in 2016 and 2017 in Region 4: West; Division 8: Mountain (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming). 

 

2016

2017

Difference

 

 

 

#

%

Arizona

9,707

8,947

-760

-7.8

Colorado

10,550

10,940

+390

+3.7

Idaho

2,247

2,037

-210

-9.3

Montana

1,418

1,529

+111

+7.8

Nevada

7,398

7,833

+435

+5.9

New Mexico

2,263

2,482

+219

+9.7

Utah

2,807

2,852

+45

+1.6

Wyoming

857

873

+16

+1.9

 

 

 

 

 

Total:

37,247

37,493

+246

+0.6

 Upcoming briefs will focus more closely on California by comparing the state to all other states for when California is momentarily removed from the 2016 and 2017 homeless count results, the rest of the country collectively experienced a similar annual decrease in 2017 as during the other years of this decade. 

A closer look is important because not all jurisdictions within California contributed to the increase. 

A closer look is also important because of all the recent legislation that may have contributed to an increase in homelessness, including the recent passing of legislation and ballot initiatives that focused on re-sentencing and early release from correctional institutions.

_________________ 

For more information regarding the results of the 2017 homeless count and next steps, see

  • 2017 AHAR: Part 1 – PIT Estimates of Homelessness in the U.S, which is a report published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which “outlines the key findings of the 2017 Point-In-Time (PIT) count and Housing Inventory Count (HIC) conducted in January 2017. Specifically, this report provides 2017 national, state, and CoC-level PIT and HIC estimates of homelessness, as well as estimates of chronically homeless persons, homeless veterans, and homeless children and youth.”