The United States of America has the highest number of people living on the streets. They do not have shelter, proper food or clothing. The reasons why people become homeless are very complex and unique to each situation since most of them weren’t always homeless people and had shelter at one point. There are now an estimated 1.75 million people homeless people in the USA. Half of this number consists of African-Americans and about 44% of all the homeless people are single men.

Many of these men are also army veterans, with 13% of those who are homeless having served in the military at one point. The key factors that cause people to be homeless in the long term are mental illnesses along with contributing factors like domestic abuse, poverty, low-income level, recession, and addiction. In the United States, around 640,000 people are without shelter at night. It is estimated that at least 1 percent of the population or 2.3 million children & adults are likely to experience homelessness once during a year. With this said we are going to take a look at the 15 states with the largest number of homeless people.

15. New York City, New York

New York is one of the biggest and most populated cities on the planet with high income levels and ever higher property prices floating in the market. Shockingly, New York has one of the highest rates of people living in the streets. It is estimated to be somewhere between 73,523 to 77,430 homeless people living in the city. In fact, thirteen percent of all homeless people in the United States live in New York City.

This crisis has most probably been made worse due to the lack of housing assistance which should be provided by the local authorities to families, children and other individuals in New York that lack housing. According to the New York Times, people living in the streets are legally entitled to shelter by the government. As of recent times, the state has been spending a large amount money on homeless people to cater to their shelter needs in the form of hotels since cluster apartments are not cheap and are often in poor condition.

14. Los Angeles, California

The city of Los Angeles, California has a large number of homeless people in the United States and it is second only to New York City. Right now it is home to about 57,737 homeless people. The homeless people in Los Angeles have the highest amount of veterans that have been more chronically homeless and young people than any other city.

It is estimated that about 75% of all the homeless people are living on the streets or in their cars. Because of this, the city also has the highest disparate level of income in the United States. With the passage of time, this state is going to see a rise in more people who do not have shelter and jobs and are mentally unstable due to homelessness.

13. San Diego, California

San Diego is the second largest city in California. It has a population of 1,345,895 and is home to 8,879 homeless people. Just like many other cities, San Diego lacks affordable housing which is the main reason of homelessness in San Diego. People who have house vouchers also have a hard time using those benefits because of high rents and low vacancy rates.

Also, the other main reason for homelessness in San Diego is the downtown development that has caused single room and cheap accommodations to vanish causing people to sleep and live onto the streets. It also has the second-largest population of homeless veterans in the country estimated at 1,156 people.

12. San Francisco, California

San Francisco has been estimated to have a large number of people living on streets without home and shelter. Some sources say that there are almost 7,000 homeless people living on the streets of San Francisco, however, that number might not be true. The real number of homeless people in the city is much higher than the estimated amount.

According to some non-profit organizations and local authorities, the number of people living on the streets is estimated to be between 10,000 and 12,000. The real problem behind homelessness in San Francisco is the high cost of living and also the high property value. This city also has fewer number of beds which cause the homeless to sleep on the streets or in tents at spots around the city.

11. Orlando, Florida

Florida is the home to a whopping 31,359 homeless people. It may have been the highest rates of homelessness in the country but the good news is the state is taking powerful initiatives to change the number of homeless people on the streets. These efforts are to ensure that these people do not have to spend nights in the streets, tents or cars.

Because of all the efforts by the authorities, that number has started to decline consistently. A roof, jobs and other facilities are being provided so that the root cause of homelessness can be eliminated. Often times, the increase in the number of homeless people in Florida is the harsh climate of United States. Homeless people migrate from other states to Florida to avoid the harsh weather they have to face in some of the other states.

10. Boston, Massachusetts

The state of Massachusetts has an estimated 20,018 homeless people. It is one of the few states that have sadly seen the most increase in the people permanently living in the streets since 2007. It has the most number of people that are chronically homeless comprising of thirty-one percent and this was before the financial crises happened.

All the big states in the US such as Massachusetts, New York, California, Texas, and Florida together have the largest number of homeless people. Together, they make more than half the amount of people that are homeless in the country. These numbers indicate the reasons and problems that local authorities are not handling, subsequently indicating the level of problems in these regions. Since implementing efforts to eradicate homelessness, Florida and Texas are seeing a decline in the numbers but Massachusetts seems to be the opposite.

9. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the 6th largest city in Pennsylvania, United States. It has a poverty rate of twenty-six percent and the biggest reason of homelessness in Philadelphia is the low wage system. People cannot afford a shelter to live in and real estate price and cost of living is very high. There is also a lack of transportation since the low wages ensure that people cannot afford their own transport. Also, addiction and mental health problems also contribute to homelessness.

Addiction and mental health problems also seem to contribute towards homelessness in the state. All of them are the key factors contributing to the homelessness in Philadelphia. Local authorities have a very big problem because the factors contributing to homelessness are these root factors which need to be eliminated. Only after doing so can the people have proper shelter, affordable transportation, and food.

8. Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the 28^th most populated city in the United States of America and it is home to around 6,399 homeless people. Some sources say that from 2015 to 2016 the number of homeless people has dropped by over 1000. This is indeed very good news but more efforts need to be put in to bring the number even down.

Authorities are doing their best to accommodate and provide shelter to them but still, Vegas has a large number of people living in the streets. These people are mostly youth and homeless without the shelter for the night. Mental illness is one of the biggest contributing factors to this issue. Many more on the street are victims of domestic abuse and violence.

7. Jackson, Mississippi

The total number of homeless people living on the streets of Mississippi is estimated to be 2,403. It may not have the most favorable seasons but homelessness is a very big problem here. Also, this state is suffering from the lack of affordable transportation and housing schemes for people with low wage systems. Mental illness, low income, high cost of living, addiction and domestic violence as well as some other contributing factors are the reasons of homelessness here.

Similar to some of the other States that we have mentioned on this list, a large number of homeless people here are army veterans. Mississippi Public Broadcasting says that there are hundreds and thousands of veterans who are homeless because they do not have any type of employment outside of the army.  The US Department of Veteran Affairs is said to be working on this problem but areas with such a high volume of veterans living on the streets are making it difficult for the department to make any progress.

6. Bismarck, North Dakota

North Dakota does not particularly have a large number of homeless people, however,  from the last few years, these numbers have shockingly risen with an alarming percentage of 236.6%. This is surprising since according to CNN, this state has the capabilities to be one of the fastest growing economies in the United States. In 2011, there were only 603 people that were chronically homeless but those numbers have touched the sky in these past few years. The reasons

Once again, the biggest reason for homelessness in North Dakota is the high cost of living. Even those having decent wages are facing difficulty in paying rents and affording other facilities. It came as a shock for one of the schools in the state when they realized that a quarter of the children enrolled in the school were classified as homeless who were living in shelters, tents or cars.

5. Helena, Montana

Montana has a comparatively small number of homeless people as compared to some other states, however, taking a deeper look at these figures reveals that the number of chronically homeless people has risen to 30% and among that percentage, 1 of 5 of these homeless people are army veterans.

Thr state has a rising number of homeless minors since 2008. This for a fact causes concerns regarding the number of veterans and unaccompanied minors. Cost of living is high and transport is expensive just like other states. Montana can still calm the numbers because the current numbers are less than the other states on this list.

4. Chicago, Illinois

Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois on the southwestern shores of Lake Michigan. There are almost 1,16,042 homeless people in Chicago. Now, according to Chicago Coalition on July 2013, last year Chicago saw an increase in homeless people by ten percent. Chicago also has one of the harshest winters.

Chronic homelessness in Chicago is much more complicated than it seems. These homeless people consist of the mentally ill, those addicted to the drug and alcohol, the poor, the unemployed and people who have some hard time in life. There are also old, educated, young, adults, men, women and children. Since putting in efforts for more research, the state is finding ways to effectively address this problem.

3. Washington DC

Washington DC has somewhere around 6865 homeless people according to a report released in 2013. These numbers were presented by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Compared to many of the other states in the US Washington D.C. has the largest amount of homeless people among other 32 USA states. This is surprising since Washington D.C is the capital of the United States.

With data gathered from statistics, it was revealed that D.C. has higher rates of 124.2 homeless people for every 10,000 residents. A new survey has now revealed, however,  that since the past few years the government has been providing shelters and homes to the homeless people when especially during the winters when the temperature drops below freezing zero. The government also provides money and access to hotel rooms to the homeless population who don’t want to live in the government provided shelters.

2. Denver, Colorado

Denver saw an increase in the homeless population after it jumped by thirteen percent from 2015 to 2016. Since then, however, homelessness has been declined by almost three percent. These facts have been confirmed and reported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This population is expected to increase though in Denver due to the legalization of marijuana.

Many people have blamed marijuana for an increase in the number of homeless people in Denver. The legalization of marijuana has brought homeless people in from other states which is why the number of homeless people in the state rose significantly between the past two years. A large number of potheads and marijuana users are the reasons that city has been crowded with homeless people.

1. Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore has about 4088 individuals who classify themselves as homeless. These individuals consist of children, families, young and old. The state is taking major strides to end this problem in Baltimore by creating jobs, improving the economy, providing affordable accommodation, health care, and transportation.

They are providing the people on the streets shelters, tents and the places to stay. The biggest reasons for homelessness in Baltimore are poverty, difficult circumstances in life, increased housing prices and minimum wage for workers. These workers cannot afford to buy houses or pay rent for a rental unit. Other reasons are mental illness and addiction to different kinds of drugs.