Breaking Down the 2019 U.S. Homeless Count Numbers by Regions and Divisions Established by the U.S. Census Bureau
–-More than one-third (34.7%) of all persons were counted in Region 4: West;
Division 9, (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington)–
–More than half (54.8%) of all persons were counted in Region 4: West; Division 9 and
Region 1; Division 2 (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania)—
–A strategic focus is needed for states with significant percentages of persons counted
within their regional division, which include California, Florida, Massachusetts,
New York, Tennessee, and Texas as noted in Table 13–
There were 567,715 persons counted as homeless during the 2019 homeless count according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which is the agency that certifies the count.
This report provides a breakdown of the 567,715 persons counted as homeless within the four current regions and nine divisions that are the standard data tabulation units used by the U.S. Census Bureau. Of the 567,715 persons counted, 562,184 or 99% were counted in the four current regions and nine divisions. The remaining 5,531 persons or 1% were counted in Puerto Rico (2,535) or the following U.S. territories of Virgin Islands (314); Guam (875); and the Northern Mariana Islands (1,807).
One Regional Division Counted More Than One-third of All Persons
The geographic unit with the largest number of persons counted was Region 4: West; Division 9: Pacific as outlined in Table 1. More than one-third (34.7%) or 197,050 of the 567,715 persons were counted in the states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.
Table 1. Persons Counted as Homeless in Region 4: West; Division 9: Pacific (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington)
| States | Total Persons Counted in 2019 |
| Alaska | 1,907 |
| California | 151,278 |
| Hawaii | 6,412 |
| Oregon | 15,876 |
| Washington | 21,577 |
|
Total: |
197,050 |
Two Regional Divisions Counted More Than Half of All Persons
The geographic unit with the next largest number of persons counted was Region 1: Northeast; Division 2: Middle Atlantic Division as outlined in Table 2. One-fifth (20.1%) or 114,152 of the 567,715 persons were counted in the states of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Table 2. Persons Counted as Homeless in Region 1: Northeast; Division 2: Mid-Atlantic (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania)
| States | Total Persons Counted in 2019 |
| New Jersey | 8,862 |
| New York | 92,091 |
| Pennsylvania | 13,199 |
|
Total: |
114,152 |
Together, Region 1: Northeast; Division 2: Middle Atlantic Division and Region 4: West; Division 9: Pacific, had a total of 311,202 persons counted or more than half (54.8%) of the 567,715 persons who were counted as noted in Table 3.
Table 3. Persons counted as homeless for region 1 and 4 compared to all other regional divisions
|
Regional Division |
Total Persons Counted in 2019 |
Percent of Persons Counted in 2019 |
Cumulative Percent |
| Region 4: West; Division 9: Pacific | 197,050 | 34.7 | 34.7 |
| Region 1: Northeast; Division 2 | 114,152 | 20.1 | 54.8 |
| All Other Regional Divisions | 256,513 | 45.2 | 100 |
|
Total: |
567,715 | 100 | 100 |
Three Regional Divisions Counted More Than Two-thirds of All Persons
The geographic unit with the next largest number of persons counted was Region 3: South; Division 5: South Atlantic (Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, District of Columbia, and West Virginia) as outlined in Table 4. There were 73,440 persons counted, which represents 13% of all persons counted.
Table 4. Persons Counted as Homeless in Region 3: South; Division 5: South Atlantic (Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia)
| States | Total Persons Counted in 2019 |
| Delaware | 921 |
| District of Columbia | 6,521 |
| Florida | 28,328 |
| Georgia | 10,443 |
| Maryland | 6,561 |
| North Carolina | 9,314 |
| South Carolina | 4,172 |
| Virginia | 5,783 |
| West Virginia | 1,397 |
|
Total: |
73,440 |
Together, Region 3: South; Division 5: South Atlantic, Region 1: Northeast; Division 2: Middle Atlantic Division, and Region 4: West; Division 9: Pacific had a total of 384,642 persons counted or more than two-thirds (67.8%) of the 567,715 persons who were counted as noted in Table 5.
Table 5. Persons counted as homeless for Region 4, Region 1, and Region 3 compared to all other regional divisions
|
Regional Division |
Total Persons Counted in 2019 |
Percent of Persons Counted in 2019 |
Cumulative Percent |
| Region 4: West; Division 9: Pacific | 197,050 | 34.7 | 34.7 |
| Region 1: Northeast; Division 2 | 114,152 | 20.1 | 54.8 |
| Region 3: South; Division 5: South Atlantic, Region 1 | 73,440 | 13.0 | 67.8 |
| All Other Regional Divisions | 183,073 | 32.2 | 100 |
|
Total: |
567,715 | 100 | 100 |
All Other Regional Divisions
The other regional division is in Region 1: Northeast; is Division 1: New England, which includes the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont in which 27,150 or 4.8% of all persons were counted.
Table 6. Persons Counted as Homeless in Region 1: Northeast; Division 1: New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont)
| States | Total Persons Counted in 2019 |
| Connecticut | 3,033 |
| Maine | 2,106 |
| Massachusetts | 18,471 |
| New Hampshire | 1,396 |
| Rhode Island | 1,055 |
| Vermont | 1,089 |
|
Total: |
27,150 |
There are two divisions in Region 2: Midwest. The first is Division 3: East North Central, which includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin in which 39,128 or 6.9% of all persons were counted.
Table 7. Persons Counted as Homeless in Region 2: Midwest; Division 3: East North Central (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin)
| States | Total Persons Counted in 2019 |
| Illinois | 10,199 |
| Indiana | 5,471 |
| Michigan | 8,575 |
| Ohio | 10,345 |
| Wisconsin | 4,538 |
|
Total: |
39,128 |
The second division in Region 2: Midwest is Division 4: West North Central, which includes the states of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota in which 22,769 or 4.0% of all persons were counted.
Table 8. Persons Counted as Homeless in Region 2: Midwest; Division 4: West North Central (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota)
| States | Total Persons Counted in 2019 |
| Iowa | 2,315 |
| Kansas | 2,381 |
| Minnesota | 7,977 |
| Missouri | 6,179 |
| Nebraska | 2,365 |
| North Dakota | 557 |
| South Dakota | 995 |
|
Total: |
22,769 |
There are two divisions in Region 2: Midwest. The first is Division 3: East North Central, which includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin in which 39,128 or 6.9% of all persons were counted.
Region 3: South has two divisions. The first one is Division 6: East South Central, which includes the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee in which 15,991 or 2.8% of all persons were counted.
Table 9. Persons Counted as Homeless in Region 3: South; Division 6: East South Central (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee)
| States | Total Persons Counted in 2019 |
| Alabama | 3,261 |
| Kentucky | 4,079 |
| Mississippi | 1,184 |
| Tennessee | 7,467 |
|
Total: |
15,991 |
Region 3: South’s other division is Division 7: West South Central, which includes the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas in which 35,450 or 6.2% of all persons were counted.
Table 10. Persons Counted as Homeless in Region 3: South; Division 7: West South Central (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas)
| States | Total Persons Counted in 2019 |
| Arkansas | 2,717 |
| Louisiana | 2,941 |
| Oklahoma | 3,944 |
| Texas | 25,848 |
|
Total: |
35,450 |
The second division in Region 4: West is Division 8: Mountain, which includes the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming in which 37,054 or 6.5% of all persons were counted.
Table 11. Persons Counted as Homeless in Region 4: West; Division 8: Mountain (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming)
| States | Total Persons Counted in 2019 |
| Arizona | 10,007 |
| Colorado | 9,619 |
| Idaho | 2,315 |
| Montana | 1,357 |
| Nevada | 7,169 |
| New Mexico | 3,241 |
| Utah | 2,798 |
| Wyoming | 548 |
|
Total: |
37,054 |
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Territories of Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and Virgin Islands had a combined homeless count of 5,531 persons, which represents 1.0% of all persons counted.
Table 12. Persons counted in the geographic units of Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands.
| Geographic Unit | Total Persons Counted in 2019 |
| Guam | 875 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 1,807 |
| Puerto Rico | 2,535 |
| Virgin Islands | 314 |
|
Total: |
5,531 |
A Strategic Focus
A closer look at the data shows that several of the regional divisions had one state with a significantly higher percentage of persons counted as homeless than the other states within its regional division.
Table 13. States with significant percentages of persons counted within their regional division.
|
Regional Division |
State with Significant Percentage of Persons Counted within Their Regional Division | Percentage of Persons Counted within Regional Division |
| Region 1: Northeast; Division 2: Mid-Atlantic | New York | 80.7 |
| Region 4: West; Division 9: Pacific | California | 76.8 |
| Region 3: South; Division 7: West South Central | Texas | 72.9 |
| Region 1: Northeast; Division 1: New England | Massachusetts | 68.0 |
| Region 3: South; Division 6: East South Central | Tennessee | 46.7 |
| Region 3: South; Division 5: South Atlantic | Florida | 38.6 |
Achieving a national goal “that ensures homelessness is prevented whenever possible, or if it can’t be prevented, it is a rare, brief, and one-time experience” has been outlined in Home, Together: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.
Achieving the national goal entails a strategic focus on the six states listed in Table 13 with significant percentages of persons counted within their regional division.
A strategic focus should involve federal partners continuing “to work with communities, and provide tools and information, that will enable them to set their own ambitious goals, tailored to their local conditions, and grounded in their local data,” a salient point made in the Federal Strategic Plan.
A strategic focus should also include another salient point in the plan, which is “Achieving these shared goals is not possible through federal action alone—it requires strategic focus, effort, and investments from both the public and the private sectors and across all levels of government.”