Voters Are Relatively Aligned Across Partisanship on the Causes of Homelessness in the U.S. and Potential Policy Solutions
By Tenneth Fairclough II, Lew Blank, and Rob Todaro
The United States is facing a crisis in homelessness and housing affordability. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress, approximately 653,100 people experienced homelessness on a single night in 2023, and the number of people experiencing homelessness increased by 12% between 2022 and 2023.
In a new survey, Data for Progress tested U.S. likely voters’ perceptions of homelessness and support for potential solutions.
First, voters were asked about the causes behind homelessness. A majority (57%) say homelessness is a direct result of “circumstances beyond an individual’s control,” while 34% say it's a direct result of “bad choices that an individual makes in their lives.” Voters across party lines agree with the former sentiment, including a majority of Democrats (69%) and Republicans (51%) and a plurality of Independents (49%).
When asked to further identify the root causes of homelessness, voters across party lines select alcohol and drug addiction (81%), lack of affordable housing (76%), mental or physical disabilities (74%), evictions or foreclosures (71%), and behavioral health problems (70%) as the top five issues.
The survey also asked voters about potential policies to address homelessness. A strong majority of voters (70%), including 85% of Democrats, 68% of Independents, and 55% of Republicans, support the U.S. raising taxes on wealthy households and large businesses in order to fund programs that provide shelter to people experiencing homelessness.
Some policymakers have also proposed that the U.S. government create a new bank that would provide free or low-cost bank accounts to homeless and low-income Americans. After hearing that many people experiencing homelessness cannot access the traditional banking system for several reasons, such as lacking a home address or identification to create a bank account, a strong majority of voters (71%) say they support the U.S. government creating this type of bank for homeless and low-income Americans. This support is bipartisan, including 80% of Democrats, 68% of Independents, and 63% of Republicans.
Lastly, when provided with two opposing viewpoints on how state and local governments should address homelessness, nearly two-thirds of voters (64%), including 75% of Democrats, 61% of Independents, and 53% of Republicans, say they believe state and local governments need to invest more resources into addressing homelessness, to help individuals find a home during this housing crisis. Only 28% say enough resources are already being invested to address homelessness.
These findings demonstrate that voters are relatively aligned across party lines when it comes to identifying the root causes of homelessness and supporting potential policy solutions. A bipartisan majority of voters believe homelessness is a direct result of “circumstances beyond an individual’s control,” and more than three-quarters of voters specifically point to alcohol and drug addiction and lack of affordable housing as root causes. Furthermore, policy proposals to address homelessness, including taxing wealthy households and large businesses, creating a new bank to provide free or low-cost bank accounts, and investing more state and local resources, command broad support among the electorate.
Tenneth Fairclough II (@tenten_wins) is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.
Lew Blank (@LewBlank) is a communications strategist at Data for Progress.
Rob Todaro (@RobTodaro) is the Communications Director at Data for Progress.