Homelessness by Geographic Type
On July 14, 2009, the Alliance released the first in a series of briefs about the distribution of the homeless population across five distinct geographic types - urban, mostly urban, rural, mostly rural, and urban-rural mix. The report established the distribution of the total homeless population across those categories. While the distribution at the national level is overwhelmingly urban, there is wide variation across states. The following interactive map identifies the distribution of the homeless population for each of the 50 states. To facilitate this, the categories have been reduced to three - urban, rural, and urban-rural mix - by combing the urban and mostly urban categories as well as the rural and mostly rural categories. The following chart shows the national distribution using the three categories:
The pie chart that is overlaid each state shows the distribution of homelessness by geographic type for that state and is sized to reflect total level of homelessness in that state. Click on the chart to see total homelessness for the state and the percent of the homeless population that is urban, rural, or urban-rural mix.
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This is the third in a series of briefs examining the geographic distribution of the population experiencing homelessness and the homeless assistance system in the United States. It examines the geographic distributions of homeless subpopulations and subgroups.This is the second in a series of briefs examining the geographic distribution of the population experiencing homelessness and the homeless assistance system in the United States. It evaluates how rates of homelessness in rural areas compare to rates in urban areas.This serves as the first in a series of briefs examining the geographic distribution of the homeless population in the United States and provides some insight into the extent to which homelessness exists in rural and urban areas.
