These 12 States Have The Highest Homelessness Rates

There is no single cause for homelessness in the United States, though it is a bleak circumstance that touches every community within our country. Too often, the definition is reduced to simply living outside, often in a tent or occupying a space on the sidewalk. This is an inadequate understanding, ignoring the circumstances that force many Americans to sleep in their cars or on the couches of family members, a term known as "sofa-" or "couch-surfing."

Because of this murky understanding of what it means to be homelessness, it's hard to put forward an exact number for how many Americans are living unsheltered day to day. Some put the number between 770,000 and 3.5 million people based on one's understanding of the term. However, the number could reach over 7.4 million when factoring in those who combined shelter due to lost housing. With the rising cost of living and the difficulty many people face in finding or maintaining housing, this is an ongoing crisis with the potential to worsen.

While homelessness is both a reality and a concern nationwide, there are some states where citizens are experiencing greater housing difficulty than others. These are the states that currently have the highest homelessness rates in America.

For many Americans, Hawaii represents a beautiful tropical paradise, a state that many aspire to move to and enjoy pleasant weather all year long. And yet, the state is often cited as having the highest homelessness rate across the entire country, impacting 805 people per 100,000 residents, according to a Visual Capitalist analysis of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data. According to a mid-2024 census known as the Point in Time (PIT) Counts, 6,389 people in Hawaii had experienced homelessness that year; the respondents being both sheltered and unsheltered. Oahu, the most populated island in the state, had the largest representation of homelessness. That same report also found that the number of people who experienced homelessness in Oahu between 2023 and 2024 increased by 12%. 

There are a couple of issues at the heart of the high homelessness rate in Hawaii. First is the state's notoriously high cost of living. To live well, some estimate individual residents need an annual salary of no less than $70,000. Families are said to need at east $120,000, though in some areas of Hawaii, that number rises to $200,000. While Zillow reports that Hawaiian home values are down by roughly 3% for the year, as of November 2025, the average cost of a home was still around $826,000. 

Aside from the high cost of living and housing, there is another, only recently explored side to Hawaii's homelessness crisis: the over representation of indigenous Hawaiians. Per the Civil Beat, nearly a third of homeless individuals in Oahu identified as Native Hawaiians. Considering the unique factors affecting this demographic, research suggests they are overrepresented among the island's homeless population by about 210%.

While Hawaii is known for having the highest rate of homelessness, California is associated with the highest overall number of people who are homeless. As of March 2025, it's estimated that more than 187,000 homeless individuals live in California, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

As for what's driving the record-breaking increase across the state, the root cause is quite startling in its simplicity. For many California residents, a sudden loss of income was enough to put them on a near-immediate path to homelessness. This was determined by a detailed study released by UC San Francisco. Even more harrowing, some admitted that having access to as little as $300 more could have been enough to keep them housed. 

There is another, particularly controversial, potential reason the homelessness rate in California: the act of busing this population to other places. Some cities will reportedly give homeless individuals one-way tickets to other states or towns, a practice confirmed by The Guardian that go back years. While California cities like San Francisco have programs like Homeward Bound to send homeless individuals out of the city, likewise, these people are more likely to be bussed in from other places trying to reduce their own homeless population. As to why so many would choose California as a destination, it's likely due to a combination of the warmer climate and the hope that state social programs can successfully alleviate their situations.

New York represents one of the most populous regions in the entire country, boasting an overall population of nearly 20 million people. According to state officials, the homelessness situation has worsened significantly in the state, with the number of people impacted increasing by 53.1% from 2023 and 2024. That same study found that the number of homeless children, as of 2024, was 50,773 or more than double the total reported in 2022. While the problem has worsened statewide, the greatest impact is felt in New York City. In fact, according to the Coalition for the Homeless, a stunning 102,850 people slept in a New York City shelter each night in October 2025.

There are a few driving forces behind the ongoing homeless crisis in the state, including a high cost of living paired with a notable lack of affordable housing. According to Apartments.com, the average monthly cost of a studio apartment was $3,264, as of December 2025. While other areas of New York state are far cheaper to live and retire, those drawn to the state's famous metropolis will need significant cash to survive in the city. According to a 2024 study from SmartAsset, a family of four would need over $318,000, per year, to live comfortably. Unfortunately, being unable to match an area's cost of living is one of the quickest ways to fall into a state of homelessness. Further complicating the situation is the reality that issues such as gentrification – and the subsequent displacement of lower income households as a result — are also largely to blame for New Yorkers falling into homelessness.

According to 2024 U.S. Census Bureau data, about 4.3 million people call Oregon home, and though the population growth rate has slowed significantly in recent years, this has done little to abate the ongoing homelessness crisis within the state. As of 2024, Oregon had over 22,000 homeless individuals residing within the state, per a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) point-in-time count. The highest concentration of which is thought to be in Multnomah County, with data from Multnomah County's Homeless Services Department finding that the area had a homeless population that exceeded 16,000, as of September 2025. Statewide, the situation is severe enough that Oregon alone reportedly accounts for roughly 2.6% of America's homeless population, according to a report from the Oregon Community Foundation.

A range of demographics are vulnerable to homelessness, including veterans, teens that age out of foster care, individuals suffering from mental illness, and those struggling with addiction. In addition to poor mental health and addiction issues, other direct causes for homelessness in Oregon include high housing costs and a lack of economic stability. While there are areas of the state that are more affordable, a family of four would need at least $141,000, before taxes, to thrive in the Portland metro area, per the MIT Living Wage Calculator. A loss of reliable income could cause an individual or family to very quickly lose their home and way of life here.

As with west coasts states California and Oregon, Washington is another state with a very large homeless population. There's been a notable increase in homelessness, with HUD's 2025 Point In Time Count estimating that 22,173 homeless individuals resided in the state as of early 2025. The data found that 67% of those accounted for were sheltered, meaning they lived in transitional housing or emergency shelters, while the remaining 33% were completely unhoused. It's worth noting that this data does not include information for unsheltered individuals in King County, where Seattle is located. In 2024, research put forward by the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) claimed the county's homeless population was 16,868. Worryingly, this is a 26% increase from the 2022 estimate. 

The statewide homelessness issue is one that has been a major concern for years, with much of the blame placed on increasing housing and rent costs, along with the fact wages have failed to rise to meet costs. However, in September 2025, The Seattle Times reported that Washington was experiencing a slowing down of reported homelessness. That said, some are worried that federal and state budget cuts to social programs might lead to a backslide, and that the state could once again face a sharp spike in homelessness in the coming years.

The fact that Texas is a state experiencing severe homelessness may be a startling revelation to some Americans, especially considering the increased purchasing power of consumers in the state. Unfortunately, while it is true that locations like Brownsville or Wichita Falls are cited as highly affordable, this fact is not enough to undo the reality of homelessness across the state. Major cities like Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin account for thousands of homeless individuals. In January 2024, the Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care's annual point-in-time count (which included counts across 215 of the state's 254 counties) found over 10,000 people experiencing homelessness in the state.

There are some surprising and unfortunate causes contributing to the state's homeless crisis. While some sources blame a lack of affordable housing and rising costs, others point to systemic factors such as generational poverty, racism, and even the criminal justice system. There is also criticism for the state government's approach to homeless individuals, which often includes arrests, forceable removals, and deliberate encampment destruction. According to the Texas Tribune, Texas Governor Greg Abbott's main justification for the state's sweep of homeless camps, and the removal of homeless people, is to make an area "safer and cleaner." However, Abbott's approach has put him at odds with other officials in the state. For example, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson finds encampment removals to be costly, and questions the lack of alternative places for the forcibly removed to go.

According to the Florida Coalition to End Homelessness, there are approximately 28,498 homeless individuals in the state. Of that total, it's believed that about 20% are chronically homeless, which means they have either been without housing multiple times or for prolonged periods. Meanwhile, about 30% of this group are coping with mental health and/or substance abuse issues. Unfortunately, the state has many of the same contributing economic factors as others, such as rising costs and housing scarcity. However, there is one issue unique to this part of the country that could pose an especially severe risk of becoming unhoused.

Each year, extreme weather conditions leave hundreds to thousands of people without homes in Florida. In 2022 alone, per Invisible People, 10,000 Floridians became homeless in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. While some people have the resources to rebuild their home locally, or relocate to a different part of the country, many people do not — especially if they lack savings or live in low-income households. Plus, even if a homeowner previously thought they were covered by insurance, the ongoing Florida home insurance crisis could mean they do not have the protection they assumed they did — leaving them vulnerable to immediate and potentially permanent homelessness. The situation in Florida is made all the more severe by a readily enforced anti-encampment law passed by Governor Ron DeSantis in March 2024.

Per U.S. News & World Report, Massachusetts is ranked the richest state in the country, with the median income coming in at a little under $100,000. However, while Massachusetts is considered to be among the wealthier states, it does not mean that all locals enjoy equal access to a high standard of living or stable housing. In fact, Massachusetts has a high percentage of homelessness relative to many other states. Per the Telegram & Gazette, a statewide count from January 2024 found 29,435 homeless individuals across the state. This number represented a 54% surge from 2023, with 19,107 counted that year. During that same period, the state also noted an increase in chronic homelessness, including chronically homeless families.

Aside from unaffordable housing and rising costs, one of the main reasons for this increase in recent years is the domino effect caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite state moratoriums on evictions, there was a notable increase in evictions in the years following the pandemic. Being homeless in a state like Massachusetts can be especially risky, as the frigid winter weather can make living without adequate shelter particularly dangerous.

Despite its status among states with the best economies, a 2024 Arizona Department of Economic Security report painted a stark picture of the state's homelessness situation. The 2024 Arizona PIT Count identified about 14,737 homeless individuals in January of that year, which was a 3% increase from the 2023 count. Despite the overall rise in statewide homelessness, there was an estimated 4% decrease in Arizona's unsheltered homeless population — dropping from 7,615 people in 2023 to 7,291. 

While these numbers concern Arizona as a whole, a large portion of impacted individuals can be found in Maricopa County, home to Phoenix. In fact, there is even a controversial area of Phoenix, known as the Zone, where over 1,000 people live in tents and other forms of makeshift housing. Phoenix citizens have filed a lawsuit regarding the area, with some going so far as to claim that the encampments existence violates state environmental laws. Yet, the destruction of the Zone would not offer any immediate resolution to the residents of the area, who would find themselves completely unsheltered. In fact, this has already played out with previous attempts to clear the area, which only resulted in a slow return to the Zone, as impacted individuals have nowhere else to go.

In Illinois, homelessness among its population has been an issue going back to the 1980s, leading to significant steps to cope with the issue. For instance, in 1993, House Bill 267 was signed into law, and was designed to provide state services for formerly homeless and at-risk low income individuals and families. However, despite the efforts, homelessness has remained a steady concern. Some contributing factors to the state's crisis include high unemployment rates, significant poverty, poor wages, health problems, and the need to flee from domestic abuse. 

The number of homeless people in the state was estimated to be around 25,000 in 2024. Many of these people are located in Chicago, specifically, where approximately 7,452 people experienced homelessness in 2025, a 60% decline from the 18,836 counted in 2024, according to the city of Chicago's 2025 Annual Report on Homelessness. Some local governments have responded to the rise in area homeless populations with harsh measures, including forcibly removing these individuals from the area. However, Illinois's state officials warn that these efforts could, in fact, violate the rights of the unhoused.

The homeless situation in Colorado might be more severe than many Americans know. According to 2024 HUD PIT data, 14,439 people experienced homelessness on any given night of that year. However, a Colorado Homeless Management Information System study showed that, in 2024, more than 52,000 people needed housing services connected to homelessness. According to the study, about 6% of homeless Coloradans were veterans, while 30% of those counted deal with chronic homelessness. Likewise, native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, black/African Americans, and native/indigenous Americans were three to 14 times more likely to be homeless compared to the general Colorado population. It's believed that about 10,000 of the area's homeless population is concentrated in the Denver metropolitan area.

The past several years have shown a sharp climb in Colorado's homeless population. The Regional Economic Development Institute places the blame on a variety of factors, including poverty, unemployment, and a lack of affordable housing. Similarly, the widening gap between wages and housing costs have affected residents. The institute also noted that a lack of resources for healthcare put those with severe mental health and substance abuse issues at risk for homelessness. That said, Colorado organizations are working to keep up with the issue. In 2023, there were 358,435 emergency shelter beds and 88,626 beds through transitional housing programs available.

Despite being the largest U.S. state in terms of sheer landmass, Alaska actually has one of the smallest populations. As of 2024, the state's total population was a little more than 741,000. However, according to HUD data, about 2,686 people in Alaska experienced homelessness in 2024. While that number might seem small, it represents a disturbingly high rate relative to the state's total population. The report also noted that the state experienced a 40.8% increase in homelessness since 2019. It's believed that, of Alaska's total homeless population, nearly half can be accounted for in the Anchorage region alone.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Anchorage responded to the ongoing homeless issue by pouring funds into outreach programs and mass opening shelters across the area. Though efforts led to an initial ease of homelessness, in recent years, things seem to have gotten worse. One major source of concern is that despite best efforts to account for, and accurately estimate the homeless population in the state, there is an ongoing invisible population as well. Namely, those who couch surf or those who double or even triple up within a single home in order to avoid being unsheltered — especially during colder months.