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The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 2020 Census Special Reports By William Koerber, Erik Schmidt, and Steven Wilson October 2024 C2020SR-01 Acknowledgments This report was prepared by William Koerber, Erik Schmidt, and Steven Wilson of the U.S. Census Bureau. General direction was provided by Jason Devine, assistant division chief for Census Programs, with additional direction provided by Karen Battle, chief of the Population Division, and Victoria Velkoff, associate director for Demographic Programs. The authors thank Lindsay Spell and Linda Orsini for assistance with the county population map. We appreciate the thorough review by Marc J. Perry from the Population Division. Additional editorial and review assistance were provided by Amy Symens Smith, Tiangeng Lu, Brynn Epstein, and Theodore Charm. Christine E. Geter, Andrew Quach, and Stacey Barber provided publication management, graphic design and composition, editorial review, and 508 compliancy for print and electronic media under the direction of Corey Beasley, chief of the Graphic and Editorial Services Branch, Public Information Office. The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 Issued October 2024 C2020SR-01 U.S. Census Bureau Robert L. Santos, Director Suggested Citation William Koerber, Erik Schmidt, and Steven Wilson, U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Special Reports, C2020SR-01, The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020, U.S. Government Publishing Office, Washington, DC, October 2024. U.S. CENSUS BUREAU Robert L. Santos, Director Ron S. Jarmin, Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer Victoria A. Velkoff, Associate Director for Demographic Programs Karen Battle, Chief, Population Division Contents Text Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Age and Sex Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Age and Sex Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Race and Hispanic Origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population by Geography . . . 6 Methodology and Source of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 About the 2020 Census . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Tables Table 1. Total, Group Quarters, and Emergency and Transitional Shelter Populations by Sex and Selected Age Groups: 2020 . . . . . . . 3 Table 2. Total, Group Quarters, and Emergency and Transitional Shelter Populations by Hispanic or Latino Origin and by Race: 2020 . . . . . . . 5 Table 3. Age and Sex Distribution of the Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Table 4. The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population by Sex and Selected Age Groups for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Table 5. Ten Counties With the Largest Population in Emergency and Transitional Shelters: 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Table 6. Ten Places With the Largest Population in Emergency and Transitional Shelters: 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Table 7. Ten Places With the Largest Percentage of the Group Quarters Population in Emergency and Transitional Shelters: 2020 . . . . . . . . . . 15 Figures Figure 1. The Emergency and Transitional Shelter and Total U.S. Populations by Sex and Age: 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Figure 2. Percentage Distribution of the Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population by State: 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Figure 3. The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population by Sex for States: 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Figure 4. The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population by Selected Age Groups for States: 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Figure 5. The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 . . . 13 U.S. Census Bureau The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 iii The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 INTRODUCTION This report is the third by the U.S. Census Bureau focusing on the population in emergency and transitional shelters and their demographic characteristics.1 Special reports were written after the 2000 and 2010 Censuses were conducted.2 The 2020 report is formatted similarly to the 2010 report for easier comparison. According to the 2020 Census, there were 188,889 people in emergency and transitional shelters in the United States. This amounted to 2.3 percent of the 8.2 million people counted in group quarters (GQs) in the 2020 Census. Emergency and transitional shelter data were collected as part of service-based enumeration (SBE) during the 2020 Census Group Quarters operations. The 2020 SBE provided an opportunity for people without conventional housing or people experiencing homelessness to be included in the census by enumerating them at places where they received services or at preidentified outdoor locations. In addition to emergency and transitional shelters, people were enumerated at soup kitchens, regularly scheduled food vans, and targeted nonsheltered outdoor locations (e.g., people staying 1 In this report, “emergency and transitional shelters” refers to emergency and transitional shelters (with sleeping facilities) for people experiencing homelessness. 2 “The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2010” is available at <www. census.gov/library/publications/2012/dec/ c2010sr-02.html> and “The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2000” is available at <https://www2.census.gov/ prod2/2001pubs/censr01-2.pdf>. 2020 DEFINITIONS Group Quarters A group quarters is a place where people live or stay, in a group living arrangement that is owned or managed by an entity or organization providing housing and/or services for the residents. These services may include custodial or medical care as well as other types of assistance, and residency is commonly restricted to those receiving these services. This is not a typical household-type living arrangement. People living in group quarters are usually not related to each other. Group quarters include such places as college residence halls, residential treatment centers, skilled-nursing facilities, group homes, military barracks, correctional facilities, and workers’ dormitories.* Emergency and Transitional Shelters (With Sleeping Facilities) for People Experiencing Homelessness Facilities where people experiencing homelessness stay overnight. These include: • Shelters that operate on a first-come, first-served basis where people must leave in the morning and have no guaranteed bed for the next night. • Shelters where people know that they have a bed for a specified period of time (even if they leave the building every day). • Shelters that provide temporary shelter during extremely cold weather (such as churches). This category does not include shelters that operate only in the event of a natural disaster. Examples are emergency and transitional shelters; missions; hotels and motels used to shelter people experiencing homelessness; shelters for children who are runaways, neglected, or experiencing homelessness; and similar places known to have people experienc- ing homelessness. * Documentation at <https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/ technical-documentation/complete-tech-docs/demographic-and-housing- characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile/2020census-demographic-and-housing- characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile-techdoc.pdf>. U.S. Census Bureau The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 1 outside in certain preidentified places like encampments under bridges or in parking lots).3 The 2020 SBE was scheduled for March 30–April 1, 2020, but because of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, SBE was rescheduled to September 22–24, 2020.4 In cases where a person enumerated at a shelter was also enumerated elsewhere, or indicated another location where they sometimes live or stay, the person was counted at the shelter.5 The Census Bureau cautions data users that any attempt to use the results from SBE as a measure of the overall number of people experiencing homelessness would be inaccurate. The population at emergency and transitional shelters and other service- based GQs represents only part of the population experiencing homelessness. The Census Bureau does not produce or publish data specifically on the population experiencing homelessness, but during the decennial census, we do enumerate people at certain types of facilities that serve the population. People experiencing 3 Details about the 2020 Census Group Quarters operations including the service-based enumeration can be found in the “Group Quarters Operation Detailed Operational Plan v2.0” at <https:// www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/ decennial/2020/program-management/ planning-docs/GQ_detailed_operational_ plan-v2.pdf>. 4 The effects of COVID-19 on the 2020 Census can be found in the “2020 Census Topic Report: Potential Quality Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic” at <https:// www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/ decennial/2020/program-management/ evaluate-docs/EAE-2020-quality-impact- covid19.pdf>. 5 Where people are counted was determined by the official residence criteria and residence situations for the 2020 Census. More information is available at <www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ decennial-census/decade/2020/about/ residence-rule.html>. homelessness may also be enumerated in other decennial census operations. For instance, people in shelters that operate only in an event of a natural disaster are counted apart from the SBE operations but included in the noninstitutionalized GQ population. People who were experiencing homelessness and were temporarily staying with friends were counted as part of other operations, using housing unit enumeration procedures. In addition, the internet self-response option (introduced in the 2020 Census) allowed people to respond with a location description for their residence in lieu of a specific address. None of these operations separately identified people experiencing homelessness. While the Census Bureau mounted extensive operations to obtain a comprehensive enumeration, we will not produce a separate tabulation of the number of people experiencing homelessness. AGE AND SEX COMPOSITION There were more males than females in emergency and transitional shelters. Males accounted for 112,267, or 59.4 percent, of the 188,889 people in emergency and transitional shelters (Table 1). Compared with the female population of 76,622, this equated to 147 males for every 100 females in shelters, which was comparable to the 140 males for every 100 females in the overall GQ population but much larger than the 96 males for every 100 females in the total U.S. population. Males in emergency and transitional shelters represented 2.3 percent of the male GQ population, compared with females in emergency and transitional shelters, who represented 2.2 percent of the female GQ population. The majority of the population in emergency and transitional shelters were 18 to 64 years old. There were 143,587 people aged 18 to 64 in emergency and transitional shelters. This accounted for 76.0 percent of the shelter population, which was slightly higher than the 75.9 percent of the GQ population aged 18 to 64 but much greater than the 61.1 percent of the total population aged 18 to 64. Almost one-sixth of the GQ population under the age of 18 were in emergency and transitional shelters. The age group distributions differed between the emergency and transitional shelter population and the GQ population at younger and older ages. Those under the age of 18 were 17.5 percent of the emergency and transitional shelter population, compared with 2.5 percent of the GQ population and 22.1 percent of the total population. Accordingly, of people younger than the age of 18 who lived in GQs, almost one-sixth, 16.4 percent, were in emergency and transitional shelters. There were more males aged 65 and over in emergency and transitional shelters than females. For the total U.S. population, there were 25.0 million males aged 65 and over compared with 30.8 million females, or 81 males to every 100 females. The ratio was more skewed for the GQ population aged 65 and over, where there were 58 males to every 100 females. However, 2 The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 U.S. Census Bureau Table 1. Total, Group Quarters, and Emergency and Transitional Shelter Populations by Sex and Selected Age Groups: 2020 Total population Group quarters population Emergency and transitional shelter population Sex and selected age group Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Both sexes, all ages . . . . . . . 331,449,281 Under 18 years . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,106,000 18 to 64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202,550,780 65 years and over . . . . . . . . . 55,792,501 Median age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38.8 Male, all ages . . . . . . . . . . . . 162,685,811 Under 18 years . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,380,346 18 to 64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100,306,345 65 years and over . . . . . . . . . 24,999,120 Median age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37.5 Female, all ages . . . . . . . . . . 168,763,470 Under 18 years . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,725,654 18 to 64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102,244,435 65 years and over . . . . . . . . . 30,793,381 Median age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.9 100.0 22.1 61.1 16.8 X 100.0 23.0 61.7 15.4 X 100.0 21.2 60.6 18.2 X 8,239,016 202,378 6,252,313 1,784,325 31.5 4,812,083 117,757 4,038,904 655,422 32.4 3,426,933 84,621 2,213,409 1,128,903 28.1 100.0 2.5 75.9 21.7 X 100.0 2.4 83.9 13.6 X 100.0 2.5 64.6 32.9 X 188,889 33,116 143,587 12,186 39.8 112,267 17,016 87,281 7,970 43.6 76,622 16,100 56,306 4,216 34.7 100.0 17.5 76.0 6.5 X 100.0 15.2 77.7 7.1 X 100.0 21.0 73.5 5.5 X Percent of group quarters population 2.3 16.4 2.3 0.7 X 2.3 14.5 2.2 1.2 X 2.2 19.0 2.5 0.4 X X Not applicable. Note: Percentages may not sum up to 100.0 due to rounding. For information on data collection, confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, refer to <https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentation/complete-tech-docs/ demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile/2020census-demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and- demographic-profile-techdoc.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC) and 2020 Census Microdata Detail File (MDF). The U.S. Census Bureau reviewed this data product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release: CBDRB-FY22-DSEP-004. for emergency and transitional shelters, there were 189 males to every 100 females that were aged 65 and over. For those under the age of 18, there were 106 males to 100 females in emergency and transitional shelters, 139 males to 100 females in all GQs, and 105 males to 100 females in the total population. Despite a smaller proportion of people aged 65 and over, the emergency and transitional shelters population had a higher median age than the total or GQ population. In 2020, 12,186 people, or 6.5 percent of the emergency and transitional shelter population, was aged 65 and over. This was smaller than the 21.7 percent of the GQ population and 16.8 percent of the total population that was aged 65 and over. Despite this, the median age of people in shelters was over 8 years older than people in GQs (39.8 years versus 31.5 years) and 1 year older than people in the total population (38.8 years). The median age for males in shelters (43.6 years) was greater than males in the total population (37.5 years), despite males aged 65 and over being 15.4 percent of the total male population and only 7.1 percent of the males in the emergency and transitional shelter population. In comparison, the percentage of females aged 65 and over (18.2 percent) in the total female population was larger than in the emergency and transitional shelter female population (5.5 percent), and the median age for females in the total population (39.9 years) was greater than females in the emergency and transitional shelter population (34.7 years). AGE AND SEX STRUCTURE Population pyramids further illustrate the variation in age and sex distributions between the emergency and transitional shelter population and the total U.S. population. The percentages of the populations that were male or female are shown by single year of age (Figure 1). The age and sex pyramid for the total U.S. population is superimposed on the emergency and transitional shelter population to present the differences between the two. U.S. Census Bureau The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 3 Figure 1. The Emergency and Transitional Shelter and Total U.S. Populations by Sex and Age: 2020 Age 100+ 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 2.0 Male Female Emergency and transitional shelter population U.S. population 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 Percent Note: For information on data collection, confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, refer to <https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentation/complete-tech-docs/demographic-and- housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile/2020census-demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile- techdoc.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Microdata Detail File (MDF). The U.S. Census Bureau reviewed this data product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release: CBDRB-FY22-DSEP-004. 4 The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 U.S. Census Bureau The youngest ages represented larger proportions of the popula- tion in emergency and transitional shelters than in the total popu- lation but, starting at age 4 for females and age 5 for males, the proportions in the total population were larger. This pattern contin- ued for both sexes through their early 20s until the proportions of males in shelters were much larger than those in the total population, peaking at 57. Most ages beyond 65 had larger proportions for both sexes in the total population than in the emergency and transitional shelter population. Females in the total U.S. popula- tion and in the emergency and transitional shelter population had similar percentages from their mid- 30s to their mid-50s. Females of most ages from their mid-50s and older represented larger propor- tions of the total population than the emergency and transitional shelter population. RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Most of the emergency and transitional shelter population reported one race, either Black or White. In 2020, 97.2 percent, or 183,506, of the emergency and transitional shelter population reported one race (Table 2). This was a larger percentage than in the GQ population (96.4 percent) or the total population (89.8 percent). A plurality, 46.4 percent of people, in emergency and transitional shelters were Black or African American alone (87,587 people), followed by White alone (73,804 people or 39.1 percent). While White alone and Black alone populations were roughly equal proportions of the shelter population, the GQ population and the total population were primarily White alone (62.0 percent and 61.6 percent, respectively). The American Indian and Alaska Native alone group accounted for 1.9 percent (3,506 people) of the emergency and transitional shelter population, while the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone group accounted for 0.7 percent (1,257 people). Both race groups accounted for larger proportions of the emergency and transitional shelter population than of the GQ or total populations. The American Indian and Alaska Native alone and the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander populations accounted for 1.1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, of the GQ population, and 1.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, of the total population. Table 2. Total, Group Quarters, and Emergency and Transitional Shelter Populations by Hispanic or Latino Origin and by Race: 2020 Hispanic or Latino origin and race Total population Group quarters population Emergency and transitional shelter population Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Hispanic or Latino Origin and Race    Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Not Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  White alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Race    Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Black or African American . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  American Indian and Alaska Native . . . . . . . . .  Asian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander . .  Some Other Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Two or More Races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331,449,281 62,080,044 269,369,237 191,697,647 331,449,281 297,600,338 204,277,273 41,104,200 3,727,135 19,886,049 689,966 27,915,715 33,848,943 100.0 18.7 81.3 57.8 100.0 89.8 61.6 12.4 1.1 6.0 0.2 8.4 10.2 8,239,016 1,179,750 7,059,266 4,722,186 8,239,016 7,939,744 5,104,338 1,708,602 92,497 372,234 22,294 639,779 299,272 100.0 14.3 85.7 57.3 100.0 96.4 62.0 20.7 1.1 4.5 0.3 7.8 3.6 188,889 38,950 149,939 60,591 188,889 183,506 73,804 87,587 3,506 2,262 1,257 15,090 5,383 100.0 20.6 79.4 32.1 100.0 97.2 39.1 46.4 1.9 1.2 0.7 8.0 2.8 Note: Percentages may not sum up to 100.0 due to rounding. For information on data collection, confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, refer to <https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentation/complete-tech-docs/ demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile/2020census-demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and- demographic-profile-techdoc.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC) and 2020 Census Microdata Detail File (MDF). The U.S. Census Bureau reviewed this data product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release: CBDRB-FY22-DSEP-004. U.S. Census Bureau The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 5 The Asian alone population had a smaller proportion in the emergency and transitional shelter population (1.2 percent) compared with the GQ population (4.5 percent) or the total population (6.0 percent). In addition, people of Hispanic or Latino origin (who may be any race) represented 20.6 percent, or 38,950 people, of the emergency and transitional shelter population. Both the GQ population and the total population had lower concentrations of Hispanics (14.3 percent and 18.7 percent, respectively). Of people in the emergency and transitional shelter population, 32.1 percent (60,591 people) reported they were non- Hispanic White alone. This was much lower than the proportion of non-Hispanic White alone population in the GQ population (57.3 percent) and the total population (57.8 percent). THE EMERGENCY AND TRANSITIONAL SHELTER POPULATION BY GEOGRAPHY United States Nationally, just over half of the population in emergency and transitional shelters were adult males. At the national level, males and females under the age of 18 had nearly equal proportions of the total emergency and transitional shelter population at 9.0 and 8.5 percent, respectively (Table 3). Males aged 18 and over were 50.4 percent of the national shelter population, while females aged 18 and over were 32.0 percent of the population. Region The Northeast accounted for the largest proportion of the nation’s emergency and transitional shelter population. Among the four census regions, the largest emergency and transitional shelter population was in the Northeast (82,757 or 43.8 percent of the national emergency and transitional shelter population), followed by the West (49,805 or 26.4 percent), the South (35,614 or 18.9 percent), and the Midwest (20,713 or 11.0 percent) (Table 4).6 The Northeast had the smallest ratio of males to females in emergency and transitional shelters. Every region had more males than females in emergency and transitional shelters, but the sex ratios of males to 100 females varied. In emergency and transitional shelters in the Northeast, there were 126 males for every 100 females. The number of males was higher in the other regions, with the West having 156 males, the South 167 males, and the Midwest 187 males. 6 The Northeast region includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The Midwest includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. The West includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The Northeast had almost two-thirds of the juveniles in emergency and transitional shelters. The Northeast had the largest emergency and transitional shelter population in total and by age groups under 18 (21,077 or 63.6 percent of the under-18-years shelter population) and 18 and over (61,680 or 39.6 percent of the 18-and-over shelter population). The Midwest had the smallest emergency and transitional shelter population in total and for both age groups with 7.9 percent (2,603) of those under the age of 18 and 11.6 percent (18,110) of those aged 18 and over. States Most people in emergency and transitional shelters lived in New York and California. New York had both the largest emergency and transitional shelter population with 67,739 (35.9 percent) (Table 4 and Figure 2). California was next with 30,245 (16.0 percent), followed by Texas (6,074 or 3.2 percent), Florida (5,614 or 3.0 percent), and Washington (5,439 or 2.9 percent). The District of Columbia and 28 other states had emergency and transitional shelter populations between 1,000 and 5,000. Seventeen states and Puerto Rico had shelter populations of less than 1,000. 6 The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 U.S. Census Bureau Table 3. Age and Sex Distribution of the Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: 2020 Area    United States . . . . Region Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . State Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alaska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . District of Columbia . . . . Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hawaii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Hampshire . . . . . . . . New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . New Mexico. . . . . . . . . . . . New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . North Carolina . . . . . . . . . North Dakota . . . . . . . . . . Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . South Carolina . . . . . . . . . South Dakota . . . . . . . . . . Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . . . Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Puerto Rico . . . . . . . . . . . . Male Female Under 18 years 18 years and over Under 18 years 18 years and over 9.0 12.9 6.5 6.9 5.1 6.5 1.1 10.2 3.6 5.1 5.3 4.8 6.1 13.1 6.5 6.5 5.5 6.2 5.0 5.8 7.1 6.8 3.0 1.9 8.4 6.7 5.7 5.6 9.6 1.6 3.9 5.7 5.3 0.7 7.6 5.7 3.1 14.3 12.6 5.7 7.1 3.7 3.4 8.4 3.9 2.1 8.1 1.2 5.7 11.1 7.9 5.4 3.8 3.0 6.7 14.8 1.0 50.4 42.8 58.7 55.7 55.9 49.8 75.2 51.9 60.4 53.8 55.7 59.0 50.9 41.3 50.8 61.6 47.4 57.8 57.9 62.9 58.3 60.2 64.2 63.0 44.6 52.5 51.5 58.4 54.2 59.0 62.2 61.9 65.3 90.2 54.1 57.0 64.9 40.2 47.2 70.9 58.5 69.4 57.1 55.7 58.9 73.4 42.5 66.1 61.3 39.0 52.1 54.9 61.8 53.5 56.3 39.3 79.6 8.5 12.5 6.0 6.0 4.7 5.9 0.9 8.0 2.5 4.8 6.6 5.3 8.6 12.8 6.8 4.2 6.8 4.0 5.6 5.6 5.8 5.3 3.9 2.6 4.0 5.0 4.6 5.4 9.4 3.3 3.3 4.5 2.5 0.1 6.5 6.0 2.3 14.0 7.6 5.0 6.9 2.9 3.5 7.5 5.7 3.1 3.8 1.3 4.7 8.7 6.1 5.5 3.3 1.8 5.6 12.6 0.7 32.0 31.7 28.8 31.5 34.3 37.7 22.8 30.0 33.6 36.4 32.4 30.9 34.4 32.7 35.9 27.7 40.3 32.0 31.5 25.6 28.8 27.6 28.9 32.6 43.1 35.8 38.2 30.5 26.8 36.1 30.6 27.8 26.9 8.9 31.8 31.2 29.7 31.5 32.6 18.4 27.4 24.0 36.1 28.4 31.5 21.4 45.6 31.3 28.3 41.2 33.9 34.2 31.2 41.8 31.4 33.3 18.7 Note: Percentages may not sum up to 100.0 due to rounding. For information on data collection, confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, refer to <https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentation/complete-tech-docs/demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and- demographic-profile/2020census-demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile-techdoc.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC). The U.S. Census Bureau reviewed this data product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release: CBDRB-FY22-DSEP-004. U.S. Census Bureau The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 7 Table 4. The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population by Sex and Selected Age Groups for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: 2020 Area Both sexes Male Female Under 18 years 18 years and over Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent 82,757 20,713 35,614 49,805    United States . . . . 188,889 Region Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . State Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alaska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . District of Columbia . . . . Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hawaii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Hampshire . . . . . . . . New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . New Mexico. . . . . . . . . . . . New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . North Carolina . . . . . . . . . North Dakota . . . . . . . . . . Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . South Carolina . . . . . . . . . South Dakota . . . . . . . . . . Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . . . Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Puerto Rico . . . . . . . . . . . . 673 1,323 2,176 444 30,245 3,187 1,006 163 4,718 5,614 3,709 1,155 694 2,892 1,754 1,022 732 1,682 961 478 1,945 3,349 2,856 2,930 427 1,175 352 1,297 838 825 3,559 1,020 67,739 2,987 141 4,220 1,610 2,266 3,705 406 1,078 160 1,134 6,074 975 1,690 1,995 5,439 400 1,534 135 299 100.0 112,267 100.0 76,622 100.0 33,116 100.0 155,773 100.0 43.8 11.0 18.9 26.4 0.4 0.7 1.2 0.2 16.0 1.7 0.5 0.1 2.5 3.0 2.0 0.6 0.4 1.5 0.9 0.5 0.4 0.9 0.5 0.3 1.0 1.8 1.5 1.6 0.2 0.6 0.2 0.7 0.4 0.4 1.9 0.5 35.9 1.6 0.1 2.2 0.9 1.2 2.0 0.2 0.6 0.1 0.6 3.2 0.5 0.9 1.1 2.9 0.2 0.8 0.1 X 46,134 13,506 22,273 30,354 379 1,010 1,351 284 17,803 1,944 642 93 2,570 3,217 2,525 611 444 1,820 1,206 669 491 1,130 623 253 1,152 1,916 1,830 1,870 259 777 238 916 762 509 2,234 694 36,935 1,788 108 2,771 1,177 1,369 2,376 255 814 81 764 4,068 488 1,014 1,204 3,567 226 967 73 241 41.1 12.0 19.8 27.0 0.3 0.9 1.2 0.3 15.9 1.7 0.6 0.1 2.3 2.9 2.2 0.5 0.4 1.6 1.1 0.6 0.4 1.0 0.6 0.2 1.0 1.7 1.6 1.7 0.2 0.7 0.2 0.8 0.7 0.5 2.0 0.6 32.9 1.6 0.1 2.5 1.0 1.2 2.1 0.2 0.7 0.1 0.7 3.6 0.4 0.9 1.1 3.2 0.2 0.9 0.1 X 36,623 7,207 13,341 19,451 294 313 825 160 12,442 1,243 364 70 2,148 2,397 1,184 544 250 1,072 548 353 241 552 338 225 793 1,433 1,026 1,060 168 398 114 381 76 316 1,325 326 30,804 1,199 33 1,449 433 897 1,329 151 264 79 370 2,006 487 676 791 1,872 174 567 62 58 47.8 9.4 17.4 25.4 0.4 0.4 1.1 0.2 16.2 1.6 0.5 0.1 2.8 3.1 1.5 0.7 0.3 1.4 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.7 0.4 0.3 1.0 1.9 1.3 1.4 0.2 0.5 0.1 0.5 0.1 0.4 1.7 0.4 40.2 1.6 0.0 1.9 0.6 1.2 1.7 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.5 2.6 0.6 0.9 1.0 2.4 0.2 0.7 0.1 X 21,077 2,603 4,571 4,865 84 27 395 27 2,983 377 101 24 1,223 743 396 143 71 306 201 132 89 116 43 59 228 343 316 556 21 85 36 101 7 117 418 55 19,173 603 15 594 107 156 591 39 56 19 29 635 193 236 217 385 19 189 37 5 63.6 7.9 13.8 14.7 0.3 0.1 1.2 0.1 9.0 1.1 0.3 0.1 3.7 2.2 1.2 0.4 0.2 0.9 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.7 1.0 1.0 1.7 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.0 0.4 1.3 0.2 57.9 1.8 0.0 1.8 0.3 0.5 1.8 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 1.9 0.6 0.7 0.7 1.2 0.1 0.6 0.1 X 61,680 18,110 31,043 44,940 589 1,296 1,781 417 27,262 2,810 905 139 3,495 4,871 3,313 1,012 623 2,586 1,553 890 643 1,566 918 419 1,717 3,006 2,540 2,374 406 1,090 316 1,196 831 708 3,141 965 48,566 2,384 126 3,626 1,503 2,110 3,114 367 1,022 141 1,105 5,439 782 1,454 1,778 5,054 381 1,345 98 294 39.6 11.6 19.9 28.8 0.4 0.8 1.1 0.3 17.5 1.8 0.6 0.1 2.2 3.1 2.1 0.6 0.4 1.7 1.0 0.6 0.4 1.0 0.6 0.3 1.1 1.9 1.6 1.5 0.3 0.7 0.2 0.8 0.5 0.5 2.0 0.6 31.2 1.5 0.1 2.3 1.0 1.4 2.0 0.2 0.7 0.1 0.7 3.5 0.5 0.9 1.1 3.2 0.2 0.9 0.1 X X Not applicable. Note: Percentages may not sum up to 100.0 due to rounding. For information on data collection, confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, refer to <https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentation/complete-tech-docs/demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and- demographic-profile/2020census-demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile-techdoc.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC). The U.S. Census Bureau reviewed this data product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release: CBDRB-FY22-DSEP-004. 8 The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 U.S. Census Bureau New York had the largest number of males and females in emergency and transitional shelters. New York had the largest male population (36,935) and female population (30,804) in emergency and transitional shelters, which accounted for 32.9 percent of the total male and 40.2 percent of the total female emergency and transitional shelter population. In contrast, Wyoming had the smallest male population in emergency and transitional shelters (73) and North Dakota had the smallest female shelter population (33). New York had a majority of the juvenile population in emergency and transitional shelters. For broad age groups, New York had the largest emergency and transitional shelter population under 18 years old (19,173), representing 57.9 percent of the nation’s juvenile emergency and transitional shelter population. In addition, New York had the largest number of people aged 18 and over (48,566) in those shelters, accounting for 31.2 percent of the nation’s adult emergency and transitional shelter population. Across states, the proportions of males and females in emergency and transitional shelters varied (Figure 3). The state with the most uneven distribution was Nevada, where 90.9 percent of the emergency and transitional shelter population was male, which Figure 2. Percentage Distribution of the Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population by State: 2020 Remaining states 30.4 New York 35.9 California 16.0 Pennsylvania 2.0 Georgia 2.0 Ohio 2.2 District of Columbia 2.5 Washington 2.9 Texas 3.2 Florida 3.0 Note: For information on data collection, confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, refer to <https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentation/complete- tech-docs/demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile/2020census- demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile-techdoc.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Microdata Detail File (MDF). The U.S. Census Bureau reviewed this data product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release: CBDRB-FY22-DSEP-004. equates to an average of 1,003 males for every 100 females. In contrast, Utah had an almost equal number of males and females in shelters, with 50.1 percent males. New York, with the largest emergency and transitional shelter population, had 54.5 percent male or 120 males for every 100 females. For 13 states and the District of Columbia, the proportion of males in emergency and transitional shelters was smaller than the national level (59.4 percent). U.S. Census Bureau The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 9 Figure 3. The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population by Sex for States: 2020 Nevada North Dakota Alaska South Carolina Oklahoma Nebraska Indiana Georgia New Mexico Montana Tennessee Kentucky Kansas Texas Missouri Ohio Washington Iowa Louisiana Pennsylvania Michigan Idaho Arkansas Minnesota Connecticut Wisconsin Illinois Rhode Island New Jersey Arizona New Hampshire Colorado Mississippi Oregon Virginia Vermont North Carolina United States Maryland California Florida Massachusetts Delaware West Virginia Alabama New York District of Columbia Wyoming Maine Hawaii South Dakota Utah 90.9 76.6 76.3 75.5 73.1 70.6 68.8 68.1 68.0 67.6 67.4 67.2 67.1 67.0 66.1 65.7 65.6 65.5 64.8 64.1 64.1 64.0 64.0 63.8 63.8 63.0 62.9 62.8 62.8 62.1 61.7 61.0 60.7 60.4 60.4 60.0 59.9 59.4 59.2 58.9 57.3 57.2 57.1 56.5 56.3 54.5 54.5 54.1 52.9 52.9 50.6 50.1 Male Female 9.1 23.4 23.7 24.5 26.9 29.4 31.2 31.9 32.0 32.4 32.6 32.8 32.9 33.0 33.9 34.3 34.4 34.5 35.2 35.9 35.9 36.0 36.0 36.2 36.2 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.2 37.9 38.3 39.0 39.3 39.6 39.6 40.0 40.1 40.6 40.8 41.1 42.7 42.8 42.9 43.5 43.7 45.5 45.5 45.9 47.1 47.1 49.4 49.9 Note: For information on data collection, confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, refer to <https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentation/complete-tech-docs/demographic-and-housing- characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile/2020census-demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile-techdoc.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Microdata Detail File (MDF). The U.S. Census Bureau reviewed this data product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release: CBDRB-FY22-DSEP-004. 10 The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 U.S. Census Bureau New York had the largest percentage of juveniles in emergency and transitional shelters, while Nevada had the largest percentage of adults in emergency and transitional shelters. New York had the highest percentage (28.3 percent) under 18 years old in emergency and transitional shelters, followed by Wyoming (27.4 percent) (Figure 4). Only six states and the District of Columbia had higher proportions of juveniles in the emergency and transitional shelters than the national level (17.5 percent). Nevada and Alaska had the highest percentages in the 18 years old and over age group with 99.2 percent and 98.0 percent, respectively. Most states had larger male juvenile and male adult populations in emergency and transitional shelters. The distribution of age and sex varies by state (Table 3). There were higher proportions of male than female juveniles in 35 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. North Carolina had a higher proportion of males under 18 years old (12.6 percent) than females (7.6 percent), while Delaware had the opposite pattern (6.1 percent male, 8.6 percent female). For the 18 years old and over age group, Nevada had the highest disproportionate share of males, with over ten times as many males as females. Only two states had emergency and transitional shelter populations with more females than males aged 18 and over: Utah (39.0 percent male, 41.2 percent female) and South Dakota (42.5 percent male, 45.6 percent female). These disproportionate age and sex relationships across states are noteworthy because they highlight important demographic contrasts; however, these patterns are apparent in states where the total emergency and transitional shelter populations were already small, therefore, the data should be used with caution. Counties Viewing the emergency and transitional shelter population from a spatial perspective, a county- level map provides more detail about their patterns in the United States and Puerto Rico (Figure 5).7 Clusters of counties with the 7 The primary legal divisions of most states are termed “counties.” In Louisiana, these divisions are known as parishes. In Alaska, which has no counties, the statistically equivalent entities are census areas, cities, and boroughs (as in Juneau City and Borough, a municipality [Anchorage], and organized boroughs). Census areas are delineated cooperatively for data presentation purposes by the state of Alaska and the Census Bureau. In four states (Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia), there are one or more incorporated places that are independent of any county organization and, thus, constitute primary divisions of their states. These incorporated places are known as “independent cities” and are treated as equivalent to counties for data presentation purposes. The District of Columbia has no primary divisions, and the entire area is considered equivalent to a county and a state for data presentation purposes. largest populations in emergency and transitional shelters were along the nation’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Specifically, large populations were found in a swath along the Atlantic coast from New England to the Mid-Atlantic Corridor and in Florida. In the West, bands of coastal counties from the Pacific Northwest to the Desert Southwest had large populations, along with some counties in Hawaii. Throughout the interior of the United States, counties with large emergency and transitional shelter populations were generally located in and around metropolitan areas. Moderate and small-sized populations were concentrated in the interior of New England and continued into the Ohio River Valley and parts of the upper Midwest, along with concentrations in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Aside from many of the Great Plains states, pockets of counties with moderate and small- sized emergency and transitional shelter populations existed in states representing the Heartland, the Appalachian Mountains, the Mississippi Delta, Texas and Oklahoma, and the Intermountain West. U.S. Census Bureau The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 11 Figure 4. The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population by Selected Age Groups for States: 2020 New York Wyoming District of Columbia North Carolina Utah Minnesota Arizona United States Pennsylvania Delaware New Hampshire Ohio Vermont Florida Iowa Alabama Hawaii Maine Wisconsin Kansas South Dakota Colorado New Jersey Maryland Indiana Michigan Virginia Georgia North Dakota Illinois Texas Massachusetts Idaho Montana Connecticut California Rhode Island Nebraska Missouri Washington Kentucky Oregon Oklahoma Arkansas New Mexico South Carolina Mississippi West Virginia Louisiana Tennessee Alaska Nevada 28.3 27.4 25.9 20.2 19.8 19.0 18.2 17.5 16.0 14.7 14.2 14.1 14.0 13.2 12.9 12.5 12.4 12.3 12.3 12.2 11.9 11.8 11.7 11.7 11.5 11.1 10.9 10.7 10.6 10.6 10.5 10.2 10.2 10.2 10.0 9.9 9.6 7.8 7.2 7.1 6.9 6.9 6.6 6.1 5.4 5.2 4.9 4.8 4.5 2.6 2.0 0.8 Under 18 years 18 years and over 71.7 72.6 74.1 79.8 80.2 81.0 81.8 82.5 84.0 85.3 85.8 85.9 86.0 86.8 87.1 87.5 87.6 87.7 87.7 87.8 88.1 88.2 88.3 88.3 88.5 88.9 89.1 89.3 89.4 89.4 89.5 89.8 89.8 89.8 90.0 90.1 90.4 92.2 92.8 92.9 93.1 93.1 93.4 93.9 94.6 94.8 95.1 95.3 95.5 97.4 98.0 99.2 Note: For information on data collection, confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, refer to <https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentation/complete-tech-docs/demographic-and-housing- characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile/2020census-demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile- techdoc.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Microdata Detail File (MDF). The U.S. Census Bureau reviewed this data product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release: CBDRB-FY22-DSEP-004. 12 The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 U.S. Census Bureau y t n u o c y b n o i t a l u p o P e r o m r o 0 0 0 , 1 9 9 9 o t 0 0 5 9 9 4 o t 0 0 1 9 9 o t 1 s e l i M 0 5 0 s e l i M 0 0 1 0 s e l i M 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 2 : n o i t a l u p o P r e t l e h S l a n o i t i s n a r T d n a y c n e g r e m E e h T . 5 e r u g F i s e l i M 0 0 2 0 l f o e r u s o c s i d d e z i r o h t u a n u r o f t c u d o r p a t a d s i h t d e w e v e r u a e r u B s u s n e C i . . S U e h T . ) C H D ( e l i F s c i t s i r e t c a r a h C g n i s u o H d n a i c h p a r g o m e D s u s n e C 0 2 0 2 , u a e r u B s u s n e C . . S U : e c r u o S . 4 0 0 - P E S D - 2 2 Y F - B R D B C : e s a e e r l s i h t o t d e i l p p a s e c i t c a r p e c n a d o v a i l e r u s o c s i d e h t d e v o r p p a d n a n o i t a m r o f n i l a i t n e d fi n o c U.S. Census Bureau The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 13 Five counties had emergency and transitional shelter populations above 8,000. Table 5. Ten Counties With the Largest Population in Emergency and Transitional Shelters: 2020 County    United States . . . . . . . . . . . . Bronx County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . Kings County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Queens County, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . Los Angeles County, CA . . . . . . . . . District of Columbia, DC. . . . . . . . . San Diego County, CA . . . . . . . . . . San Francisco County, CA . . . . . . . Sacramento County, CA . . . . . . . . . King County, WA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percent of U.S. emergency and transitional shelter population 100.0 10.6 8.7 8.2 6.0 4.7 2.5 1.8 1.4 1.3 1.3 Number 188,889 19,992 16,502 15,487 11,244 8,817 4,718 3,398 2,570 2,446 2,441 Note: Percentages may not sum up to 100.0 due to rounding. For information on data collection, confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, refer to <https:// www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentation/complete-tech- docs/demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile/2020census- demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile-techdoc.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC). The U.S. Census Bureau reviewed this data product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release: CBDRB-FY22-DSEP-004. Table 6. Ten Places With the Largest Population in Emergency and Transitional Shelters: 2020 Place    United States . . . . . . . . . New York city, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Los Angeles city, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . Washington city, DC . . . . . . . . . . . . . San Diego city, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . San Francisco city, CA . . . . . . . . . . . Seattle city, WA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sacramento city, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . Denver city, CO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Minneapolis city, MN . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chicago city, IL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percent of U.S. emergency and transitional shelter population 100.0 33.6 3.0 2.5 1.6 1.4 1.1 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.8 Number 188,889 63,526 5,751 4,718 2,987 2,570 2,119 1,872 1,808 1,785 1,603 Note: Percentages may not sum up to 100.0 due to rounding. For information on data collection, confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, refer to <https:// www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentation/complete-tech- docs/demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile/2020census- demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile-techdoc.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC). The U.S. Census Bureau reviewed this data product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release: CBDRB-FY22-DSEP-004. Four of the five counties with the largest emergency and transitional shelter populations were in New York: Bronx County with 19,992, New York County with 16,502, Kings County with 15,487, and Queens County with 11,244 (Table 5). The fifth largest was Los Angeles County, CA, with a population of 8,817. From there, the numbers drop below 5,000 people, with the District of Columbia at 4,718; San Diego County, CA, with 3,398; San Francisco County, CA, at 2,570; Sacramento County, CA, with 2,446; and King County, WA, with 2,441. Overall, there were 29 county or county equivalents with emergency and transitional shelter populations of 1,000 or more, 24 with populations of 500 to 999, 187 with populations of 100 to 499, and 736 with populations of 1 to 99. Of the 3,221 county or county equivalents in the United States and Puerto Rico, 2,245 or 69.7 percent had no shelter population in 2020. Places One-third of the emergency and transitional shelter population was in New York city in 2020. There were 63,526 people in shelters in New York city, far more than any other city (Table 6). Three of the five cities with the largest populations were in California: Los Angeles (5,751), San Diego (2,987), and San Francisco (2,570). Washington, DC, was the city with the third-largest shelter population with 4,718 people. 14 The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 U.S. Census Bureau New York city also had the largest percentage of the GQ population in emergency and transitional shelters. In New York city, 29.0 percent of its GQ population was in emergency and transitional shelters, the largest of any place with a total population of 100,000 or more (Table 7).8 In both San Mateo, CA, and Lansing, MI, more than one-fifth of their GQ populations were in emergency and transition shelters, with their percentages being 20.9 and 20.6, respectively. In addition, the California cities of Fremont (18.9 percent), Norwalk (15.2 percent), and Sunnyvale (14.7 percent) were in the top ten. METHODOLOGY AND SOURCES OF DATA This report uses 2020 decennial census data. For readability, large whole numbers in the text are expressed in millions. Whole numbers in tables and under 1 million in the text are unrounded. All derived values are computed using unrounded data and then rounded to tenths, except sex ratios, which are rounded to whole numbers. In the map, data are categorized based on unrounded data. ABOUT THE 2020 CENSUS Why was the 2020 Census conducted? The U.S. Constitution mandates that a census be taken in the United States every 10 years. This is required to determine the number of seats each state receives in the U.S. House of Representatives. The GQ 8 There were 340 places in the 2020 Census with a population of 100,000 or more. They included 322 incorporated places (including five city/county consolidations) and 18 Census Bureau designated places that were not legally incorporated. Table 7. Ten Places With the Largest Percentage of the Group Quarters Population in Emergency and Transitional Shelters: 2020 Place1 New York city, NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . San Mateo city, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . Lansing city, MI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fremont city, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lynn city, MA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Columbus city, GA . . . . . . . . . . . . . Las Vegas city, NV . . . . . . . . . . . . . Westminster city, CO . . . . . . . . . . Norwalk city, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sunnyvale city, CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . Group quarters population 218,728 1,221 671 2,736 1,036 6,281 4,605 710 1,205 1,294 Emergency and transitional shelter population Percent of group quarters population 29.0 20.9 20.6 18.9 18.5 17.4 16.4 15.4 15.2 14.7 Number 63,526 255 138 518 192 1,090 755 109 183 190 1 Places of 100,000 or more. Note: Percentages may not sum up to 100.0 due to rounding. For information on data collection, confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, refer to <https:// www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/technical-documentation/complete-tech- docs/demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile/2020census- demographic-and-housing-characteristics-file-and-demographic-profile-techdoc.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC). The U.S. Census Bureau reviewed this data product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release: CBDRB-FY22-DSEP-004. population, and specifically the population in emergency and transitional shelters, is an important element of the U.S. population. How are these data beneficial? The purpose of the census is to produce an accurate and complete count of the population of the United States. These data provide information on the population in emergency and transitional shelters for people experiencing homelessness, and give us valuable insights into the size and demographic characteristics of this population, as well as its geographic distribution. It is important to note, however, that for a variety of reasons, the population discussed here should not be interpreted as representing the entire population experiencing homelessness. The purpose of this special report is to provide a snapshot of the population enumerated in emergency and transitional shelters at the time of the 2020 Census. How are data collected in the 2020 Census protected from disclosure? To protect respondent confidentiality, data have undergone disclosure avoidance methods that add “statistical noise”—small random additions or subtractions—to the data so that no one can reliably link the published data to a specific person or household. The Census Bureau encourages data users to aggregate small populations and geographies to improve accuracy and diminish implausible results. While statistical noise is used to protect data from disclosure while preserving valid statistical outcomes, there are three data points where statistical noise is not applied in order to preserve these “as reported” counts. These data points are referred to as “invariants,” and one such invariant U.S. Census Bureau The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 15 the content of this report and the accompanying tables and figures, contact the authors at: William Koerber <william.k.koerber@census.gov>, Erik Schmidt <erik.schmidt@census.gov>, and Steven Wilson <steven.g.wilson@census.gov>. is the total number of GQ units by GQ type at the block level. For more information on this and the statistical methods used to protect confidentiality, refer to <www. census.gov/programs-surveys/ decennial-census/decade/2020/ planning-management/process/ disclosure-avoidance.html>. FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information on the GQ population in the United States, including 2020 Census data products, visit the Census Bureau’s website at <www.census.gov> or call the Customer Services Center at 1-800-923-8282. Also, visit the Census Bureau’s Question and Answer Center at <ask.census. gov> to submit your questions online. Data on the GQ population from the 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC), which provides information at the nation and state level and below, are available at <https:// data.census.gov>. For information on data collection, confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, refer to <https:// www2.census.gov/programs- surveys/decennial/2020/ technical-documentation/ complete-tech-docs/demographic- and-housing-characteristics- file-and-demographic- profile/2020census-demographic- and-housing-characteristics-file- and-demographic-profile-techdoc. pdf>. For questions related to 16 The Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2020 U.S. Census Bureau