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These US States Have The Most Vacant Houses Per Homeless Person | Digg
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nobody's home

These US States Have The Most Vacant Houses Per Homeless Person

Darcy Jimenez
Darcy Jimenez
These US States Have The Most Vacant Houses Per Homeless Person
Nationwide, there are almost 22 vacant housing units for every homeless person.
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In 2023, there were an estimated 649,535 homeless people living in the US. With more than 14 million vacant houses nationwide, that means there are almost 22 empty housing units for every homeless person in the country. But how does that figure vary from state to state?

Using data from Census Bureau and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, MortgageCalculator.org ranked each US state based on the number of vacant housing units per homeless person. Estimates for the homeless population of each state are from 2023.

The highest-ranking state overall is Mississippi, where, with 183,935 vacant homes and a homeless population of just 982, the rate stands at around 187 vacant housing units for every homeless person.

Alabama and Louisiana take second and third place, with rates of 93.39 and 91.83, respectively.

The lowest rates in the country belong to California, where there are 5.86 vacant houses per homeless person, and Oregon, where there are 6.33.

Click image to enlarge

most vacant houses per homeless person, by state

Via MortgageCalculator.org.

Comments

  1. Miss 5250 4 days ago

    I think what they are trying to say here is, there is no "Housing Crisis". We have the roofs for the people.
    Add the obscene amount of money that we have thrown at this issue and we should all take a closer look

    40% of these people already have 1 or 2 jobs. They have some barrier to renting, like an eviction. Can't afford to Buy. They just need some assistance finding something affordable.

    Also the House, themselves. Are they Starter Homes, Multi-Unit Condos, McMansions & High End Beverly Hills types. There isn't any breakdown here. They aren't including Rental Availability or the Short Term Rentals like AirBnB.

    Homelessness has Exploded Nationwide. All this money is mostly Federal funding. City & County Govts are in charge of Doling it out & spending it as they see fit. They can ignore the Consultants advice. The advice we paid for...in favor of something that will get them re-elected.
    How many Shelter Beds should a City of 1 million people have? Historically what percentage of the population is chronically homeless? Or in need of Temporary Housing due to a Fire, Health problems, whatever. That number is not the same as it was back in 2020.

    It would also be interesting to see how many SFR are owned by Corporations, Hedgefunds, etc...& not Individuals. This is a new thing. I think it's creeping up on 25%.

    It's insulting to assume the Unhoused are all lazy. There is a serious lack of affordable housing. The largest wealth transfer in history.

    But this simple graph should make us all wonder what is really going on here? We have thrown a ton of money at it & it's gotten worse. The homeless are the symptom of a much bigger problem.

    1. Jason V Brock 1 day ago

      Good comment. But there are other realities, such as drug abuse or mental health issues. Thank Reagan's bad policies for exacerbating the latter, but we do need to have the homeless tackle and help themselves to some degree.

      Some don't want to do that. They LIKE being on the streets (I think of it as an extension of "hobo" culture). Others are criminals trying to dodge the system. It's weird to think that, but it's a fact and we can't just ignore it.

      There will always be a subset of folks who want to be unencumbered and high or who are not mentally stable or are criminally minded. And we must face that, too. And find solutions to those issues, be it involuntary committal, making them accept treatment, and so on.

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