A new report from the White House reveals the homeless population in the United States has ballooned to more than a half-million people. What may come as an even bigger shock is that almost half of that population lives in one place: California.
Around 47% of the “unsheltered” homeless population, which is defined as anyone that sleeps in an area that isn’t meant for long-term living, are based in California, according to a new report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Over one-third of the homeless population (35%) in America falls into the category of unsheltered homeless. So that mean’s almost 90,000 unsheltered homeless living in the so-called Golden State.
When zooming into pure city-level ranking, California holds a staggering four of the five top spots for unsheltered homeless in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Rosa and San Jose.
President Donald Trump ordered officials to launch a sweeping probe into the homeless issue in California back in September, but it has received some pushback from state legislators who wonder what the federal government can legally do, according to The Washington Post.
Speaking of Washington, the District of Columbia has the highest homeless rate in the country at 5.8 times the U.S. rate. New York, Hawaii, Oregon and California round out the top five. While these states make up 20% of the total U.S. population, they hold 45% of the entire country’s homeless population.
The data from the White House also found that homeless populations were more concentrated to cities and states along each of the coasts, which can be correlated to rising costs of living in places like San Francisco and New York.
Warmer states are also more likely to be targets for homeless populations, but states that experience extreme, prolonged heat like Florida or Texas don’t have as many homeless as some of their more mild-weather counterparts.
Another factor that impacts the data is local laws.
“Some (states) more than others engage in more stringent enforcement of quality of life issues like restrictions on the use of tents and encampments, loitering, and other related activities,” the report said, according to MarketWatch.