For officials

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 saved Open data For 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 made Show our own counts

Demo data. In the last 12 months, people in Maryland asked most about Housing (49%), then Money (17%) and Food (13%). Rising fastest from the week before: Housing, up 5%.

Time

Maryland, Oct 13, 2025 to Oct 11, 2026

QuestionsDemo data: 37,713
▲ +2% vs the week before
Needed help this weekDemo data: 12,204
Unmet needDemo dataNo program and no listed place nearby fit: 6,073

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

	Food	Housing	Health	Money	Care	Work	Education	Other (legal help, safety)	Total
Week of Oct 13	100	373	40	100	Under 10	21	Under 10	Under 10	719
Week of Oct 20	105	364	40	95	Under 10	20	Under 10	Under 10	711
Week of Oct 27	111	362	39	95	Under 10	21	Under 10	Under 10	718
Week of Nov 3	115	354	40	96	Under 10	21	Under 10	Under 10	718
Week of Nov 10	121	349	38	98	Under 10	22	Under 10	Under 10	720
Week of Nov 17	123	350	38	97	Under 10	24	Under 10	93	725
Week of Nov 24	123	359	38	98	Under 10	24	Under 10	97	739
Week of Dec 1	125	366	40	99	Under 10	29	Under 10	101	760
Week of Dec 8	125	369	41	98	Under 10	29	Under 10	105	767
Week of Dec 15	119	379	41	99	Under 10	30	Under 10	103	771
Week of Dec 22	111	405	41	105	Under 10	33	Under 10	104	799
Week of Dec 29	100	427	44	111	Under 10	34	Under 10	Under 10	819
Week of Jan 5	92	449	44	112	Under 10	33	Under 10	Under 10	830
Week of Jan 12	78	477	45	113	Under 10	33	Under 10	Under 10	843
Week of Jan 19	77	473	44	125	Under 10	32	Under 10	Under 10	849
Week of Jan 26	74	461	41	144	Under 10	30	Under 10	Under 10	842
Week of Feb 2	73	450	40	153	Under 10	Under 10	Under 10	Under 10	829
Week of Feb 9	73	440	39	165	Under 10	23	Under 10	89	829
Week of Feb 16	73	434	39	170	Under 10	21	Under 10	90	827
Week of Feb 23	72	406	40	172	Under 10	21	Under 10	92	803
Week of Mar 2	77	388	39	176	Under 10	21	Under 10	97	798
Week of Mar 9	79	370	40	175	Under 10	21	Under 10	Under 10	784
Week of Mar 16	83	355	40	181	Under 10	21	Under 10	Under 10	779
Week of Mar 23	82	344	40	180	Under 10	Under 10	Under 10	Under 10	760
Week of Mar 30	84	333	39	190	Under 10	Under 10	Under 10	Under 10	753
Week of Apr 6	88	326	41	205	Under 10	Under 10	Under 10	Under 10	769
Week of Apr 13	88	308	41	204	Under 10	Under 10	Under 10	Under 10	745
Week of Apr 20	92	304	40	180	Under 10	Under 10	Under 10	Under 10	723
Week of Apr 27	94	303	39	151	Under 10	21	Under 10	Under 10	698
Week of May 4	95	304	38	127	Under 10	20	Under 10	Under 10	673
Week of May 11	96	302	39	102	Under 10	20	Under 10	Under 10	651
Week of May 18	97	302	38	101	Under 10	20	Under 10	Under 10	650
Week of May 25	98	302	39	97	Under 10	21	Under 10	Under 10	651
Week of Jun 1	101	305	39	98	Under 10	20	Under 10	85	652
Week of Jun 8	106	311	39	96	Under 10	20	Under 10	Under 10	660
Week of Jun 15	104	308	39	99	Under 10	20	Under 10	Under 10	658
Week of Jun 22	101	310	39	97	Under 10	21	Under 10	Under 10	660
Week of Jun 29	98	313	40	97	Under 10	21	Under 10	Under 10	666
Week of Jul 6	91	310	40	97	Under 10	23	11	Under 10	661
Week of Jul 13	94	311	41	99	Under 10	22	14	Under 10	671
Week of Jul 20	93	315	41	97	Under 10	21	14	Under 10	670
Week of Jul 27	93	316	41	97	Under 10	20	14	Under 10	670
Week of Aug 3	93	319	41	97	Under 10	20	13	Under 10	673
Week of Aug 10	93	321	42	97	Under 10	20	14	Under 10	678
Week of Aug 17	100	322	40	98	Under 10	19	11	Under 10	677
Week of Aug 24	103	318	40	98	Under 10	19	10	Under 10	676
Week of Aug 31	108	316	39	95	Under 10	18	Under 10	Under 10	667
Week of Sep 7	111	328	40	98	Under 10	19	Under 10	82	684
Week of Sep 14	115	330	40	98	Under 10	20	Under 10	Under 10	686
Week of Sep 21	112	329	40	101	Under 10	20	Under 10	Under 10	683
Week of Sep 28	109	347	41	101	Under 10	20	Under 10	Under 10	699
Week of Oct 5	81	298	34	75	Under 10	15	Under 10	Under 10	570

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

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 help	Questions	Change from the week before	Unmet
Housing	18,315	+5%	3,969
Money	6,249	0%	808
Food	5,049	-3%	225
Legal help	4,136	0%	976
Health	2,081	+3%	81
Work	1,172	0%	14
Safety	502		Under 10
Education	139		Under 10
Care	70		Under 10

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

Demo data

See the numbers

	Food	Housing	Health	Money	Care	Work	Education	Other (legal help, safety)
November 2025	17%	49%	5%	13%	Under 10	3%	Under 10	13%
December 2025	15%	50%	5%	13%	Under 10	4%	Under 10	Under 10
January 2026	10%	55%	5%	15%	Under 10	4%	Under 10	Under 10
February 2026	9%	53%	5%	20%	Under 10	3%	Under 10	11%
March 2026	10%	46%	5%	23%	Under 10	3%	Under 10	Under 10
April 2026	12%	42%	5%	25%	Under 10	3%	Under 10	Under 10
May 2026	15%	46%	6%	16%	Under 10	3%	Under 10	Under 10
June 2026	15%	47%	6%	15%	0%	3%	1%	13%
July 2026	14%	47%	6%	15%	0%	3%	2%	13%
August 2026	15%	47%	6%	14%	0%	3%	2%	13%
September 2026	16%	48%	6%	14%	Under 10	3%	Under 10	12%
October 2026	14%	52%	6%	13%	Under 10	3%	Under 10	Under 10

01Housing18,31548.6%
02Money6,24916.6%
03Food5,04913.4%
04Other (legal help, safety)4,63812.3%
05Health2,0815.5%
06Work1,1723.1%
07Education1390.4%
08Care700.2%

Where. Questions by county in Maryland.

Demo data

Most questions
More
Some
Fewer
Fewer than 10, or none

Most questions

01Montgomery County6,628▲ +1%
02Prince George's County5,869▲ +1%
03Baltimore County5,185▲ +3%
04Anne Arundel County3,653▲ +3%
05Baltimore city3,440▲ +2%
06Howard County2,060▲ +3%
07Frederick County1,837▲ +3%
08Harford County1,6170%
09Carroll County1,0590%
10Charles County1,043▲ +5%
11Washington County9320%
12St. Mary's County703▲ +8%
13Wicomico County636▲ +9%
14Cecil County631▲ +9%
15Calvert County5440%

See the numbers: County

County	Questions	This week	Unmet
Montgomery County	6,628	2,173	1,137
Prince George's County	5,869	1,917	989
Baltimore County	5,185	1,742	892
Anne Arundel County	3,653	1,247	614
Baltimore city	3,440	1,155	578
Howard County	2,060	663	318
Frederick County	1,837	584	300
Harford County	1,617	502	262
Carroll County	1,059	363	164
Charles County	1,043	358	169
Washington County	932	325	158
St. Mary's County	703	240	95
Wicomico County	636	201	73
Cecil County	631	187	73
Calvert County	544	150	55
Allegany County	361	81	52
Worcester County	323	60	51
Queen Anne's County	321	58	48
Talbot County	233	52	17
Caroline County	197	52	11
Dorchester County	182	52	10
Garrett County	110	28	Under 10
Somerset County	84	12	Under 10
Kent County	65	Under 10	Under 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 week	Unmet need
Week of Oct 13	32%	17%
Week of Oct 20	34%	17%
Week of Oct 27	34%	16%
Week of Nov 3	32%	15%
Week of Nov 10	32%	16%
Week of Nov 17	32%	15%
Week of Nov 24	33%	17%
Week of Dec 1	33%	17%
Week of Dec 8	33%	16%
Week of Dec 15	33%	16%
Week of Dec 22	34%	17%
Week of Dec 29	34%	17%
Week of Jan 5	32%	18%
Week of Jan 12	32%	18%
Week of Jan 19	32%	18%
Week of Jan 26	34%	18%
Week of Feb 2	33%	17%
Week of Feb 9	33%	17%
Week of Feb 16	33%	17%
Week of Feb 23	33%	16%
Week of Mar 2	33%	18%
Week of Mar 9	32%	18%
Week of Mar 16	33%	16%
Week of Mar 23	32%	15%
Week of Mar 30	33%	16%
Week of Apr 6	32%	16%
Week of Apr 13	32%	16%
Week of Apr 20	32%	16%
Week of Apr 27	31%	16%
Week of May 4	32%	16%
Week of May 11	33%	16%
Week of May 18	33%	16%
Week of May 25	32%	16%
Week of Jun 1	31%	16%
Week of Jun 8	31%	15%
Week of Jun 15	31%	15%
Week of Jun 22	32%	16%
Week of Jun 29	32%	16%
Week of Jul 6	31%	14%
Week of Jul 13	30%	15%
Week of Jul 20	31%	15%
Week of Jul 27	31%	15%
Week of Aug 3	32%	16%
Week of Aug 10	32%	16%
Week of Aug 17	32%	16%
Week of Aug 24	32%	16%
Week of Aug 31	32%	16%
Week of Sep 7	32%	15%
Week of Sep 14	33%	15%
Week of Sep 21	32%	16%
Week of Sep 28	33%	16%
Week of Oct 5	33%	16%

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

Demo data

Food
Housing
Health
Money
Education
Work
Legal help
Safety

See the numbers for every kind of help

	Food	Housing	Health	Money	Education	Work	Legal help	Safety
Week of Oct 13	100	373	40	100	Under 10	21	73	Under 10
Week of Oct 20	105	364	40	95	Under 10	20	75	Under 10
Week of Oct 27	111	362	39	95	Under 10	21	78	Under 10
Week of Nov 3	115	354	40	96	Under 10	21	80	Under 10
Week of Nov 10	121	349	38	98	Under 10	22	80	Under 10
Week of Nov 17	123	350	38	97	Under 10	24	82	11
Week of Nov 24	123	359	38	98	Under 10	24	86	11
Week of Dec 1	125	366	40	99	Under 10	29	90	11
Week of Dec 8	125	369	41	98	Under 10	29	94	11
Week of Dec 15	119	379	41	99	Under 10	30	92	11
Week of Dec 22	111	405	41	105	Under 10	33	93	11
Week of Dec 29	100	427	44	111	Under 10	34	91	Under 10
Week of Jan 5	92	449	44	112	Under 10	33	89	Under 10
Week of Jan 12	78	477	45	113	Under 10	33	87	Under 10
Week of Jan 19	77	473	44	125	Under 10	32	87	Under 10
Week of Jan 26	74	461	41	144	Under 10	30	83	Under 10
Week of Feb 2	73	450	40	153	Under 10	Under 10	79	Under 10
Week of Feb 9	73	440	39	165	Under 10	23	79	10
Week of Feb 16	73	434	39	170	Under 10	21	80	10
Week of Feb 23	72	406	40	172	Under 10	21	82	10
Week of Mar 2	77	388	39	176	Under 10	21	86	11
Week of Mar 9	79	370	40	175	Under 10	21	87	Under 10
Week of Mar 16	83	355	40	181	Under 10	21	87	Under 10
Week of Mar 23	82	344	40	180	Under 10	Under 10	84	Under 10
Week of Mar 30	84	333	39	190	Under 10	Under 10	78	Under 10
Week of Apr 6	88	326	41	205	Under 10	Under 10	80	Under 10
Week of Apr 13	88	308	41	204	Under 10	Under 10	76	Under 10
Week of Apr 20	92	304	40	180	Under 10	Under 10	77	Under 10
Week of Apr 27	94	303	39	151	Under 10	21	78	Under 10
Week of May 4	95	304	38	127	Under 10	20	77	Under 10
Week of May 11	96	302	39	102	Under 10	20	79	Under 10
Week of May 18	97	302	38	101	Under 10	20	79	Under 10
Week of May 25	98	302	39	97	Under 10	21	80	Under 10
Week of Jun 1	101	305	39	98	Under 10	20	75	10
Week of Jun 8	106	311	39	96	Under 10	20	75	Under 10
Week of Jun 15	104	308	39	99	Under 10	20	75	Under 10
Week of Jun 22	101	310	39	97	Under 10	21	76	Under 10
Week of Jun 29	98	313	40	97	Under 10	21	77	Under 10
Week of Jul 6	91	310	40	97	11	23	77	Under 10
Week of Jul 13	94	311	41	99	14	22	78	Under 10
Week of Jul 20	93	315	41	97	14	21	77	Under 10
Week of Jul 27	93	316	41	97	14	20	77	Under 10
Week of Aug 3	93	319	41	97	13	20	78	Under 10
Week of Aug 10	93	321	42	97	14	20	79	Under 10
Week of Aug 17	100	322	40	98	11	19	75	Under 10
Week of Aug 24	103	318	40	98	10	19	76	Under 10
Week of Aug 31	108	316	39	95	Under 10	18	74	Under 10
Week of Sep 7	111	328	40	98	Under 10	19	72	10
Week of Sep 14	115	330	40	98	Under 10	20	70	Under 10
Week of Sep 21	112	329	40	101	Under 10	20	69	Under 10
Week of Sep 28	109	347	41	101	Under 10	20	69	Under 10
Week of Oct 5	81	298	34	75	Under 10	15	59	Under 10

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. #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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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

Choose what to show

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

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

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

Where. Questions by county in Maryland.

Shading

Most questions

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

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

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

How the demo is made

Search trends

Where each pattern comes from

Sources