Homelessness Decreases in U.S.

More than 550,000 people in the United States are homeless—a solid .17 percent of the entire population. However, the homeless situation was worse 10 years ago. 

According to an article from Insider, statistics from the Department of Housing and Urban Development show that the homeless population decreased 14.4 percent between 2007 and 2017. In 2007, there were 647,258 homeless Americans, compared to 553,742 today.

The change in the homeless population is especially pronounced in some states. Michigan led the nation by decreasing its homeless population by 68 percent between 2007 and 2017. New Jersey and Kentucky also both managed to post decreases of more than 50 percent during that time period.

The numbers only reflect the change in each state's homeless population, not the homeless population overall. 

The state with the most homeless people is California, with more than 134,000. The state with the highest percentage of homeless people is Hawaii, where homeless people comprise .5 percent of the state population. Washington, D.C. fares even worse—more than 1 percent of residents are homeless in the nation’s capital.

source: Insider