On the state level, the correlation between urbanization and homelessness is small (R^2 = 0.13) and disappears to zero when you control for housing costs, while the reverse is not true (R^2 of the residual = 0.56). States like New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maryland, Illinois, Florida, Connecticut, Texas, and Pennsylvania are among the most urbanized but have relatively low homelessness rates, while Alaska, Vermont, and Maine have higher homelessness despite being very rural. There’s also, like, an obvious mechanism where expensive housing causes homelessness (poor people can’t afford rent).
The correlation between homelessness and black population in a state is actually slightly negative (R^2 = 0.09). Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama are some of the blackest states and have the lowest homelessness rates in the US; Hawaii, Oregon, Alaska and Vermont have some of the highest despite being <5% black.
On the state level, the correlation between urbanization and homelessness is small (R^2 = 0.13) and disappears to zero when you control for housing costs, while the reverse is not true (R^2 of the residual = 0.56). States like New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maryland, Illinois, Florida, Connecticut, Texas, and Pennsylvania are among the most urbanized but have relatively low homelessness rates, while Alaska, Vermont, and Maine have higher homelessness despite being very rural. There’s also, like, an obvious mechanism where expensive housing causes homelessness (poor people can’t afford rent).
The correlation between homelessness and black population in a state is actually slightly negative (R^2 = 0.09). Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama are some of the blackest states and have the lowest homelessness rates in the US; Hawaii, Oregon, Alaska and Vermont have some of the highest despite being <5% black.
Data from 538′s Urbanization Index: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-urban-or-rural-is-your-state-and-what-does-that-mean-for-the-2020-election/