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What people ask for

How many people ask Front Door for each kind of help, where, and when. We keep only counts. We never keep what anyone wrote or who they are.

Staff time and money savedOpen dataFor agencies

Demo dataDemo data, modeled from public data on when people look for help. Our own counts replace it as they grow.

Nothing here is a real count of people. The patterns through the year come from published government and 211 data. The size is made up.

How the demo is madeShow our own counts

Demo data. In the last 12 months, people in California asked most about Housing (48%), then Money (16%) and Food (13%). Rising fastest from the week before: Housing, up 5%.

Choose what to show

California, Oct 13, 2025 to Oct 11, 2026

QuestionsDemo data
239,143

▲ +2% vs the week before

Needed help this weekDemo data
78,789
Unmet needDemo dataNo program and no listed place nearby fit
41,252

Over time. Questions each week, by kind of help.

Demo data

On a phone, the chart shows the last 13. The table has every one.

See the numbers
FoodHousingHealthMoneyCareWorkEducationOther (legal help, safety)Total
Week of Oct 136142,35025860020138115214,512
Week of Oct 206712,31625459516141115584,562
Week of Oct 277102,23725059616146115764,542
Week of Nov 37192,16325461214153125934,520
Week of Nov 107512,12724961411159126064,529
Week of Nov 177652,08425161311163126224,521
Week of Nov 247802,14224760411168116244,587
Week of Dec 17842,09825760812175116364,581
Week of Dec 87872,10025658712186106534,591
Week of Dec 157532,17525960412191106484,652
Week of Dec 226922,24426664211200116564,722
Week of Dec 296292,33427367011203146424,776
Week of Jan 55762,36128971811207166264,804
Week of Jan 125152,46030175911204196184,887
Week of Jan 195012,41828683611192166154,875
Week of Jan 264902,36627189111181145994,823
Week of Feb 24652,40526697410174116064,911
Week of Feb 94532,3562541,024Under 10161Under 106004,868
Week of Feb 164522,2952521,099Under 10157Under 106084,882
Week of Feb 234662,2292481,06111152106084,785
Week of Mar 24812,1662481,06413148116224,753
Week of Mar 94962,1242481,05613144116414,733
Week of Mar 165122,1232511,08316141116344,771
Week of Mar 235312,1882581,12513146116014,873
Week of Mar 305352,1152551,21412148115764,866
Week of Apr 65492,1542581,22711149115514,910
Week of Apr 135572,1602581,26511148115404,950
Week of Apr 205822,1152481,10713143115504,769
Week of Apr 275862,12324894316140115594,626
Week of May 45842,15524978918143115784,527
Week of May 115852,18025062119141115854,392
Week of May 186002,19024959818145115734,384
Week of May 256082,19224160518144135804,401
Week of Jun 16352,16124661016150165644,398
Week of Jun 86502,16424360916153175484,400
Week of Jun 156472,15824159518154265494,388
Week of Jun 226172,16625161920151465514,421
Week of Jun 295972,14424961821154655564,404
Week of Jul 65892,24525559921153865694,517
Week of Jul 135702,21625560922153985734,496
Week of Jul 205812,17826260923151945784,476
Week of Jul 275652,18826361024144945814,469
Week of Aug 35892,25926260025139985784,550
Week of Aug 105812,24026561425131995884,543
Week of Aug 176012,23426161325130855764,525
Week of Aug 246442,20425561024122655474,471
Week of Aug 316672,20925360924121475224,452
Week of Sep 77152,21524960523123275144,471
Week of Sep 147322,21624860123121115054,457
Week of Sep 216892,23025261221127114994,441
Week of Sep 286622,34425761320133115094,549
Week of Oct 55321,98721451616111104443,830

Ranked. Kinds of help, most asked first, with the change from the week before.

  1. 01Housing115,00348% of all▲ +5%
  2. 02Money38,87516% of all0%
  3. 03Food31,64213% of all▼ -4%
  1. 04Legal help26,59411% of all▲ +2%
  2. 05Health13,2836% of all▲ +2%
  3. 06Work7,9523% of all▲ +5%
  4. 07Safety3,5621% of all▲ +2%
  5. 08Education1,3941% of all0%
  6. 09Care838<1% of all▼ -5%

Change compares the week of Sep 28 with the week of Sep 21. It shows only when both weeks have 10 or more.

See the numbers
Kind of helpQuestionsChange from the week beforeUnmet
Housing115,003+5%25,428
Money38,8750%5,769
Food31,642-4%1,716
Legal help26,594+2%6,560
Health13,283+2%842
Work7,952+5%599
Safety3,562+2%198
Education1,3940%95
Care838-5%45

By month. Each kind of help's share of all questions, month by month.

Demo data

See the numbers
FoodHousingHealthMoneyCareWorkEducationOther (legal help, safety)
November 202517%47%6%13%0%4%0%13%
December 202516%47%6%13%0%4%0%14%
January 202611%50%6%17%0%4%0%13%
February 20269%48%5%21%0%3%0%12%
March 202611%45%5%23%0%3%0%13%
April 202612%44%5%24%0%3%0%11%
May 202613%49%6%15%0%3%0%13%
June 202614%49%6%14%0%3%1%13%
July 202613%49%6%14%1%3%2%13%
August 202614%49%6%14%1%3%2%12%
September 202616%50%6%14%0%3%0%11%
October 202614%52%6%13%0%3%0%12%
  1. 01Housing115,00348.1%
  2. 02Money38,87516.3%
  3. 03Food31,64213.2%
  4. 04Other (legal help, safety)30,15612.6%
  5. 05Health13,2835.6%
  6. 06Work7,9523.3%
  7. 07Education1,3940.6%
  8. 08Care8380.4%

Where. Questions by county in California.

Demo data

Shading

  • Most questions
  • More
  • Some
  • Fewer
  • Fewer than 10, or none

Most questions

  1. 01Los Angeles County59,144▲ +8%
  2. 02San Diego County20,076▲ +1%
  3. 03Orange County19,450▲ +1%
  4. 04Riverside County15,412▲ +1%
  5. 05San Bernardino County13,4720%
  6. 06Santa Clara County11,7590%
  7. 07Alameda County10,088▼ -1%
  8. 08Sacramento County9,834▲ +1%
  9. 09Contra Costa County7,136▲ +1%
  10. 10Fresno County6,290▲ +2%
  11. 11Kern County5,644▲ +1%
  12. 12Ventura County5,0990%
  13. 13San Francisco County4,9980%
  14. 14San Joaquin County4,949▲ +1%
  15. 15San Mateo County4,499▲ +2%
See the numbers: County
CountyQuestionsThis weekUnmet
Los Angeles County59,14419,71610,502
San Diego County20,0766,6003,565
Orange County19,4506,3593,415
Riverside County15,4125,0562,699
San Bernardino County13,4724,4532,382
Santa Clara County11,7593,8412,057
Alameda County10,0883,3581,798
Sacramento County9,8343,3031,729
Contra Costa County7,1362,3761,237
Fresno County6,2902,0881,109
Kern County5,6441,881969
Ventura County5,0991,732883
San Francisco County4,9981,690853
San Joaquin County4,9491,656857
San Mateo County4,4991,497767
Stanislaus County3,3691,121561
Sonoma County2,935982484
Tulare County2,931963479
Solano County2,779942442
Santa Barbara County2,714891435
Monterey County2,659879422
Placer County2,646874408
Merced County1,803589289
San Luis Obispo County1,712543286
Santa Cruz County1,590490274
Marin County1,564495271
Yolo County1,347434231
Butte County1,236409214
El Dorado County1,141380192
Shasta County1,082366171
Imperial County1,078366179
Madera County997347145
Kings County926317152
Humboldt County816301133
Napa County805289131
Nevada County61618666
Sutter County58016661
Mendocino County51212953
Yuba County49912855
San Benito County3819752
Lake County3769452
Tehama County3587652
Tuolumne County3205952
Calaveras County2945241
Siskiyou County2615220
Amador County2575211
Lassen County12545Under 10
Glenn County1244310
Del Norte County10226Under 10
Colusa County66Under 10Under 10
Inyo County62Under 10Under 10
Plumas County62Under 10Under 10
Mariposa County56Under 10Under 10
Trinity County54Under 10Under 10
Modoc CountyUnder 10Under 10Under 10
Mono CountyUnder 10Under 10Under 10

Rows that say fewer than 10 are hidden on purpose. When only one row would be hidden, a second one is hidden too, so it cannot be worked out from the total.

Urgent and unmet. The share of questions each week that needed help this week, and the share nothing fit.

Demo data

See the numbers
Needed help this weekUnmet need
Week of Oct 1334%17%
Week of Oct 2034%17%
Week of Oct 2733%17%
Week of Nov 334%16%
Week of Nov 1034%16%
Week of Nov 1734%16%
Week of Nov 2433%17%
Week of Dec 133%17%
Week of Dec 833%17%
Week of Dec 1533%17%
Week of Dec 2232%17%
Week of Dec 2932%18%
Week of Jan 532%17%
Week of Jan 1233%17%
Week of Jan 1933%17%
Week of Jan 2633%18%
Week of Feb 232%18%
Week of Feb 932%18%
Week of Feb 1633%18%
Week of Feb 2332%17%
Week of Mar 232%18%
Week of Mar 932%18%
Week of Mar 1632%18%
Week of Mar 2332%17%
Week of Mar 3032%17%
Week of Apr 633%17%
Week of Apr 1332%17%
Week of Apr 2032%17%
Week of Apr 2732%17%
Week of May 433%18%
Week of May 1133%18%
Week of May 1834%18%
Week of May 2534%17%
Week of Jun 134%18%
Week of Jun 834%18%
Week of Jun 1534%18%
Week of Jun 2232%17%
Week of Jun 2932%17%
Week of Jul 633%17%
Week of Jul 1333%18%
Week of Jul 2032%17%
Week of Jul 2732%17%
Week of Aug 333%16%
Week of Aug 1033%17%
Week of Aug 1733%17%
Week of Aug 2434%17%
Week of Aug 3134%17%
Week of Sep 733%17%
Week of Sep 1434%17%
Week of Sep 2134%17%
Week of Sep 2834%17%
Week of Oct 533%18%

Each kind of help. Questions each week for each kind of help, on its own scale.

Demo data

  • Food

  • Housing

  • Health

  • Money

  • Care

  • Education

  • Work

  • Legal help

  • Safety

See the numbers for every kind of help
FoodHousingHealthMoneyCareEducationWorkLegal helpSafety
Week of Oct 136142,350258600201113845368
Week of Oct 206712,316254595161114148573
Week of Oct 277102,237250596161114650373
Week of Nov 37192,163254612141215352172
Week of Nov 107512,127249614111215953472
Week of Nov 177652,084251613111216354577
Week of Nov 247802,142247604111116854975
Week of Dec 17842,098257608121117556076
Week of Dec 87872,100256587121018657380
Week of Dec 157532,175259604121019156979
Week of Dec 226922,244266642111120057878
Week of Dec 296292,334273670111420357072
Week of Jan 55762,361289718111620756066
Week of Jan 125152,460301759111920455959
Week of Jan 195012,418286836111619255362
Week of Jan 264902,366271891111418153663
Week of Feb 24652,405266974101117454264
Week of Feb 94532,3562541,024Under 10Under 1016153466
Week of Feb 164522,2952521,099Under 10Under 1015754167
Week of Feb 234662,2292481,061111015253771
Week of Mar 24812,1662481,064131114855270
Week of Mar 94962,1242481,056131114457071
Week of Mar 165122,1232511,083161114156470
Week of Mar 235312,1882581,125131114653467
Week of Mar 305352,1152551,214121114851264
Week of Apr 65492,1542581,227111114949358
Week of Apr 135572,1602581,265111114848357
Week of Apr 205822,1152481,107131114348664
Week of Apr 275862,123248943161114048970
Week of May 45842,155249789181114350474
Week of May 115852,180250621191114150679
Week of May 186002,190249598181114549578
Week of May 256082,192241605181314450674
Week of Jun 16352,161246610161615049371
Week of Jun 86502,164243609161715348464
Week of Jun 156472,158241595182615448465
Week of Jun 226172,166251619204615148368
Week of Jun 295972,144249618216515448868
Week of Jul 65892,245255599218615350663
Week of Jul 135702,216255609229815351063
Week of Jul 205812,178262609239415151266
Week of Jul 275652,188263610249414451467
Week of Aug 35892,259262600259813951068
Week of Aug 105812,240265614259913152167
Week of Aug 176012,234261613258513050967
Week of Aug 246442,204255610246512248364
Week of Aug 316672,209253609244712145666
Week of Sep 77152,215249605232712344569
Week of Sep 147322,216248601231112143867
Week of Sep 216892,230252612211112743366
Week of Sep 286622,344257613201113344267
Week of Oct 55321,987214516161011138757

How we count. What each number means and what we keep.

A question
When someone asks Front Door their first question, our matching service sorts it: the kind of help, and whether they need it this week. We add one to the count for that kind of help, place and week.
The place
The ZIP code or county the person gave us, if they gave one. We never use an address, a city block or a phone location.
What we keep
The count, and nothing else: not the words, not a name, not an account, not a browser or network address.
Unmet need
No state or federal program fit the question well, and we list no office, nonprofit or food site for that kind of help in the person's county.
Small counts
Any count under 10 shows as fewer than 10, in the charts too. When only one count in a list would be hidden, we hide a second one too.
Not counted
The demo site, questions about Front Door itself, crisis questions and letters.
Weeks
Weeks start on Monday, in UTC. The page reads the counts again at most every 15 minutes.

Read our privacy page

How the demo is made

The demo is a model, not a count. It shows what this page will look like and the kinds of patterns to expect, until our own counts are large enough to replace it.

  • Size: the model assumes 40,000 questions a week across the country. That number is made up so the charts have something to show.
  • Kinds of help: each kind gets a share of all questions and a month by month pattern, read from the published sources below.
  • Places: each state gets its share by population (Census county estimates for 2024), and each county its share of its state.
  • Housing mixes rent help, which is steady through the year, with help paying utility bills, which rises in winter in colder states and in summer in hotter ones.
  • Urgent and unmet shares in the demo are made up, to show how those charts read.
  • A small fixed wobble keeps each week from looking drawn with a ruler. The same choice always draws the same numbers.

Search trends

We looked for Google Trends numbers for searches like food stamps, SNAP, rent help, Medicaid, child care help, utility help, unemployment, food bank and WIC, in English and Spanish. Google does not allow automated reading of its Trends pages, and Google has not published a dataset for these searches, so we did not use Trends. The demo is modeled from published government and 211 data instead, listed below.

Where each pattern comes from

Food
Food help rises in September and again in November and December, and is lowest in February. From the share of 211 requests that were about food, month by month, 2022 to 2024 (Western Pennsylvania's open 211 data, the only month-by-month 211 data we found). In November 2025 many states paid partial SNAP benefits during the federal shutdown; the model does not add that event.
Housing
Rent help peaks in January and again from August to October, with a dip in November, following eviction filings in 43 cities and counties tracked by the Eviction Lab, Tacoma among them. About a third of housing questions are about utility bills (211's national split of housing and utility requests in 2025). In colder states that part follows heating help, highest in January and February; in hotter states it follows help with electric bills, higher from spring to fall; states in between get half of each. The shapes come from 211 requests in Western Pennsylvania, where a winter shutoff ban moves electric requests to spring, so the cooling shape is rough.
Health
Medicaid and CHIP applications are steady through the year, highest in January, from CMS application data for 2018, 2019, 2024 and 2025 (the pandemic years are left out). Marketplace open enrollment, November 1 to January 15, adds to it in Washington.
Money
Money mixes steady cash help with the tax season: a quarter of it follows when people file federal returns (IRS 2025 filing season counts, most from February to April), when Washington's Working Families Tax Credit also opens. The other three quarters are kept flat, because we found no monthly pattern for cash help.
Care
Child care help climbs from May and peaks in August, before school starts, from the share of 211 requests about child care, 2022 to 2024 (Western Pennsylvania; a small sample).
Education
Education help, mostly school supplies, is about three times as high in July and August, from the share of 211 requests about education, 2022 to 2024 (Western Pennsylvania).
Work
Unemployment help peaks in January, rises again in early July and in December, and is lowest in September, from new unemployment claims (not seasonally adjusted) in every state, 2012 to 2019 and 2022 to 2025, Department of Labor.
Legal help
Legal help is close to flat through the year, from the share of 211 requests about legal help, 2022 to 2024 (Western Pennsylvania).
Safety
Safety is close to flat through the year, from 211 requests about domestic violence, 2022 to 2024 (Western Pennsylvania). National hotline research finds calls do not rise over the holidays, so the model adds no holiday spike.

How questions split between kinds of help: housing (with utilities) 48% and food 13%, from United Way's national 211 numbers for 2025 (19 million referrals). The rest is split the way 211 requests split in Western Pennsylvania in 2024, the only full breakdown we found. 211 is a phone line for local help, so Front Door's own mix will differ; our counts will show how.

Sources

  1. 1. 2-1-1 Requests/Referrals (2023-2025) and 2-1-1 Requests (2020-2023). United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, hosted by Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center (WPRDC); license CC BY, historical, coverage 2020-01-01 to 2025-08-27. calendar 2024 rows, level_1/level_2 classification counts Read it
  2. 2. States scramble to send full SNAP food benefits to millions of people after government shutdown ends. Associated Press (Geoff Mulvihill, David A. Lieb), via WHYY, 2025-11-13. 42 million people on SNAP; 'about two-thirds of states had issued only partial benefits or none at all'; USDA guidance Thursday Nov 13 to issue full November allotments Read it
  3. 3. Using 211 Data to Gauge Eighth District Economic Conditions. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, On the Economy (Summers-Gabr, Rodgers), 2026-02-09. Figure 3 text: food assistance requests rose in October 2025, more-substantial increases in November; data from 211 Counts dashboards for AR, IL, KY, MO, TN Read it
  4. 4. Eviction Tracking System: Version 3.0, all sites monthly data. The Eviction Lab, Princeton University (Hepburn, Haas, et al.), 2026 (file downloaded 2026-10-10). columns city, month, filings_2020, filings_avg, filings_avg_prepandemic_baseline. Download page: https://dev.evictionlab.org/eviction-tracking/get-the-data/ (no license stated; footer 'All rights reserved'; cite as Hepburn, Haas, et al., Eviction Tracking System: Version 3.0, Princeton University, 2026). Read it
  5. 5. A New Baseline: Changes to Our Eviction Metrics. The Eviction Lab, 2025-05-08. baseline moved to average of same months across 2023 and 2024 Read it
  6. 6. Preliminary Analysis: Eviction Filing Patterns in 2022. The Eviction Lab (Vallejo, Haas, Hepburn), 2023-03-09. text: Q4 decline 'follows a predictable seasonal pattern'; Jan 2022 ~78,000 filings, Aug 2022 >114,000 Read it
  7. 7. State Medicaid and CHIP Applications, Eligibility Determinations, and Enrollment Data (Performance Indicator dataset), September 2026 release. CMS (data.medicaid.gov), catalog record on data.gov, modified 2026-09-25. columns 'New Applications Submitted to Medicaid and CHIP Agencies' and 'Applications for Financial Assistance Submitted to the State Based Marketplace'; license U.S. Government Works (https://www.usa.gov/government-works); dataset id 6165f45b-ca93-5bb5-9d06-db29c692a360 Read it
  8. 8. Dates and deadlines for 2027 health insurance. HealthCare.gov (CMS), accessed 2026-10-10. 'Starting November 1, you can apply for 2027 coverage'; January 15 last day; enroll by December 15 for January 1 start Read it
  9. 9. Washington health insurance marketplace. healthinsurance.org, 2026-10-05. 'open enrollment period for 2027 coverage runs from November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027 in Washington' Read it
  10. 10. 2025 Filing season statistics, weeks ending Jan 31, Feb 28, Mar 28, May 2, Oct 17 2025. IRS Newsroom, 2025. 'Total returns received' row. Other pages: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-season-statistics-for-week-ending-jan-31-2025 , https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-season-statistics-for-week-ending-feb-28-2025 , https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-season-statistics-for-week-ending-march-28-2025 , https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-season-statistics-for-week-ending-may-2-2025 Read it
  11. 11. Working Families Tax Credit application window opens Feb. 1. Washington State Department of Revenue, 2026-01-29. window begins Feb 1, 2026 for tax year 2025; accepted through Dec 31, 2029; up to $1,330; over 675,000 refunds totaling more than $491.4 million since 2023 Read it
  12. 12. Working Families Tax Credit Program, 2025 Report to the Legislature. Washington State Department of Revenue, 2025-12-29. page 2: program begins accepting applications each year on February 1; page 3 Table 2: TY2024 approvals 284,416 (MeF 253,210, MyDOR 28,949, paper 2,257) Read it
  13. 13. IR-2016-143 (archival): refunds claiming EITC or ACTC held until at least Feb. 15. IRS, 2016-10-28. PATH Act refund hold statement Read it
  14. 14. You can begin filing your taxes on Jan. 26 this year. PBS NewsHour, 2026-01-08. 2026 filing season start Jan 26; deadline April 15 Read it
  15. 15. ETA 539 weekly claims data, ar539.csv (state-level, NSA, 1971 to present). U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Unemployment Insurance, downloaded 2026-10-10, latest week ending 2026-10-03. columns st, rptdate, c3 (initial claims). Example values: US sum week ending 2025-01-11 = 351,735 (2025 high), 2025-09-27 = 178,555 (2025 low); 2025-12-06 = 313,815; 2025-07-12 = 260,103. WA c3 week ending 2026-09-26 = 4,365. Read it
  16. 16. Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims news release. U.S. Department of Labor, 2026-10-08. page 2 Unadjusted Data: 170,333 NSA initial claims week ending Oct 3; seasonal factors expected +8.7% from prior week. State table: Washington advance 4,814, prior week 4,534. Used to validate the CSV. Read it
  17. 17. Education Department opens 2027-28 FAFSA early, marking program's earliest launch. The National News Desk (Emma Koppelman), via KATU, 2026-09-24. form already open at StudentAid.gov; traditional opening Oct 1; previous earliest Sept 24, 2025; FAFSA Simplification Act requires availability by Oct 1 Read it
  18. 18. The Effect of Holidays on Calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline: Comparing Average Call Volume. National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (VAWnet), 2020-11-20. description: 'the number of calls actually decreases during the holidays, including on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day' (2004-2019 data in linked PDFs, not opened) Read it
  19. 19. #CallUtilitiesNow: PUC urges consumers to contact utilities as winter termination moratorium ends March 31, 2023. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, 2023-03-28. 'Between December 1st and March 31st' no shutoffs to income-eligible households; electric, gas, heat-related water Read it
  20. 20. WAC 480-100-143 Winter low-income payment program. Washington State Legislature, current code, accessed 2026-10-10. 'between November 15th and March 15th' utility may not disconnect residential space heating if customer meets conditions (notify, self-certify income, apply for energy assistance, pay plan) Read it
  21. 21. LIHEAP. Washington State Department of Commerce, accessed 2026-10-10. program year Oct 1 to Sep 30; apply once per program year through local agency; income up to 150% FPL Read it
  22. 22. Nearly 1 million assistance calls made to 211 in August. The Source, Washington University in St. Louis (Neil Schoenherr), 2023-09-20. ~150,000 utility payment requests Aug 2023 (+22% vs July); Kreuter: utility payments a particular challenge in late summer Read it
  23. 23. 211 helpline data reveals most pressing U.S. community needs (2025 data). United Way Worldwide, 2026-03-31. 19 million referrals; housing 6 million, 31%; utilities 3.1 million; food 2.5 million; 27 states where housing+utilities > half Read it
  24. 24. The Facts About 211: 2025 Impact Snapshot. United Way Worldwide, 2026. housing 6M (30%), utilities 3.1M, food 2.5M; ranks #4-#7 without counts Read it
  25. 25. 211 helpline data reveals most pressing U.S. community needs (2024 data). United Way Worldwide, 2025-03-26. 16.8M requests, >18M referrals; housing 5.6M, utilities 2.9M, food 2.5M; housing+utilities 47% Read it
  26. 26. Calls to 211 helpline rise in August to the highest level of 2023. Health Communication Research Lab, Washington University in St. Louis (Garg, Golla, Kreuter), 2023-09-09. 872,079 calls Aug vs 785,654 Jul; ~150,000 utility payment requests (+22%); >280,000 housing (+8%) Read it