Homelessness is not about poverty. When we think about what causes homelessness, we probably think of individuals experiencing endemic poverty that eventually forces them onto the streets. But as a new Boston Globe report reveals, there is no correlation between the number of impoverished residents and homeless residents in the U.S. In fact, the richer the state, the higher the homelessness rate.
The surprising analysis by Evan Horowitz shows a strong nationwide trend: Homelessness is most prevalent in cities with the highest per capita incomes:

The District of Columbia is the tragic leader on this score, with a rate of homelessness six times the national average and the highest per capita incomes in the nation. Close behind are other relatively wealthy redoubts: Hawaii, New York, Oregon, and Massachusetts. Meanwhile, the states with the smallest homeless populations are Mississippi and Alabama, two of the poorest places in the country.

How could that be possible" The not-so-obvious reason for this is that the richer states have higher housing costs.
To see how these statistics play out in the real world, just look at the data from the 2008 recession. Homelessness in Americans dropped during the downturn. Why" Because the cost of housing plummeted, making it more accessible to people who might not have been able to rent or buy a home before. And as the economy grew, so did housing costs, exacerbating the problem into the crisis we?re facing today.
This rep...