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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 Oregon asked most about Housing (50%), then Money (16%) and Food (13%). Rising fastest from the week before: Housing, up 5%.

Choose what to show

Oregon, Oct 13, 2025 to Oct 11, 2026

QuestionsDemo data
24,872

▲ +3% vs the week before

Needed help this weekDemo data
7,820
Unmet needDemo dataNo program and no listed place nearby fit
3,711

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 13632492660Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10461
Week of Oct 20682502559Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10465
Week of Oct 27712452559Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10467
Week of Nov 3772412563Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10477
Week of Nov 10852422461Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10484
Week of Nov 17872422461Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10490
Week of Nov 24842442564Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10496
Week of Dec 1862502663Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10506
Week of Dec 8862512763Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10512
Week of Dec 15802602663Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10514
Week of Dec 22712772967Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10527
Week of Dec 29652892973Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10538
Week of Jan 5583073175Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10554
Week of Jan 12523203379Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10566
Week of Jan 19513162989Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10564
Week of Jan 26493112996Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10563
Week of Feb 24730727105Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10563
Week of Feb 94530224115Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10560
Week of Feb 164729224119Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10555
Week of Feb 235027925115Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10540
Week of Mar 25126525114Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10530
Week of Mar 95125025114Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10514
Week of Mar 165323425118Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10504
Week of Mar 235422725121Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10497
Week of Mar 305622024128Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10498
Week of Apr 65721425137Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10502
Week of Apr 135821025138Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10499
Week of Apr 205920727119Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10477
Week of Apr 276020126103Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10458
Week of May 4602042585Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10444
Week of May 11592052464Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10424
Week of May 18602062462Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10424
Week of May 25642062462Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10424
Week of Jun 1652032562Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10423
Week of Jun 8682042562Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10426
Week of Jun 15682052462Under 1012Under 10Under 10428
Week of Jun 22632022463Under 1012Under 10Under 10422
Week of Jun 29612022563Under 1012Under 10Under 10424
Week of Jul 6622082661Under 1013Under 10Under 10431
Week of Jul 13612102761Under 1013Under 10Under 10440
Week of Jul 20592142662Under 1012Under 10Under 10439
Week of Jul 27612152662Under 1011Under 10Under 10442
Week of Aug 3622172763Under 1011Under 10Under 10449
Week of Aug 10602192763Under 1010Under 10Under 10446
Week of Aug 17632202763Under 1010Under 10Under 10447
Week of Aug 24662172663Under 1010Under 10Under 10442
Week of Aug 31702122561Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10435
Week of Sep 7742122463Under 1010Under 10Under 10436
Week of Sep 14762142562Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10437
Week of Sep 21732272561Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10445
Week of Sep 28712392662Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10458
Week of Oct 5592162154Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10405

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

  1. 01Housing12,37950% of all▲ +5%
  2. 02Money4,08716% of all▲ +2%
  3. 03Food3,30613% of all▼ -3%
  1. 04Legal help2,74011% of all▲ +2%
  2. 05Health1,3385% of all▲ +4%
  3. 06Work6573% of allNot enough
  4. 07Safety2771% of allNot enough
  5. 08Education76<1% of allNot enough
  6. 09Care12<1% of allNot enough

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
Housing12,379+5%2,580
Money4,087+2%476
Food3,306-3%101
Legal help2,740+2%550
Health1,338+4%Under 10
Work657Under 10
Safety277Under 10
Education76Under 10
Care12Under 10

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%50%5%13%Under 103%Under 1012%
December 202515%51%5%13%Under 104%Under 1012%
January 20269%56%5%15%Under 103%Under 1011%
February 20269%53%5%20%Under 102%Under 1011%
March 202610%47%5%23%Under 102%Under 1012%
April 202612%43%5%26%Under 102%Under 1012%
May 202614%48%6%16%Under 102%Under 1014%
June 202615%48%6%15%Under 103%Under 10Under 10
July 202614%48%6%14%Under 103%2%Under 10
August 202614%49%6%14%Under 102%1%Under 10
September 202617%50%6%14%Under 10Under 10Under 1011%
October 202615%53%5%13%Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10
  1. 01Housing12,37949.8%
  2. 02Money4,08716.4%
  3. 03Food3,30613.3%
  4. 04Other (legal help, safety)3,01712.1%
  5. 05Health1,3385.4%
  6. 06Work6572.6%
  7. 07Education760.3%
  8. 08Care120%

Where. Questions by county in Oregon.

Demo data

Shading

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

Most questions

  1. 01Multnomah County4,814▲ +2%
  2. 02Washington County3,683▲ +1%
  3. 03Clackamas County2,589▲ +2%
  4. 04Lane County2,323▲ +2%
  5. 05Marion County2,131▲ +3%
  6. 06Jackson County1,319▲ +13%
  7. 07Deschutes County1,255▲ +5%
  8. 08Linn County8070%
  9. 09Douglas County6760%
  10. 10Yamhill County6730%
  11. 11Benton County585▲ +9%
  12. 12Polk County5090%
  13. 13Josephine County5010%
  14. 14Umatilla County453
  15. 15Klamath County388
See the numbers: County
CountyQuestionsThis weekUnmet
Multnomah County4,8141,637805
Washington County3,6831,230619
Clackamas County2,589848393
Lane County2,323774368
Marion County2,131691335
Jackson County1,319425225
Deschutes County1,255413216
Linn County807277123
Douglas County67623184
Yamhill County67322782
Benton County58517661
Polk County50913355
Josephine County50112554
Umatilla County45311554
Klamath County38810052
Coos County3537852
Columbia County3265951
Lincoln County3075845
Clatsop County2585213
Malheur County1605010
Crook County10324Under 10
Tillamook County9622Under 10
Union County9319Under 10
Wasco County9320Under 10
Jefferson County8918Under 10
Hood River County7710Under 10
Curry County74Under 10Under 10
Baker County54Under 10Under 10
Morrow County52Under 10Under 10
Lake County11Under 10Under 10
Grant CountyUnder 10Under 10Under 10
Harney CountyUnder 10Under 10Under 10
Wallowa 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 1332%16%
Week of Oct 2033%16%
Week of Oct 2733%15%
Week of Nov 332%14%
Week of Nov 1032%14%
Week of Nov 1732%14%
Week of Nov 2432%15%
Week of Dec 132%15%
Week of Dec 831%15%
Week of Dec 1532%15%
Week of Dec 2232%16%
Week of Dec 2932%16%
Week of Jan 533%16%
Week of Jan 1232%16%
Week of Jan 1932%16%
Week of Jan 2632%15%
Week of Feb 233%15%
Week of Feb 934%16%
Week of Feb 1634%16%
Week of Feb 2331%16%
Week of Mar 231%16%
Week of Mar 931%16%
Week of Mar 1631%16%
Week of Mar 2329%14%
Week of Mar 3030%15%
Week of Apr 631%15%
Week of Apr 1330%15%
Week of Apr 2030%15%
Week of Apr 2731%14%
Week of May 432%15%
Week of May 1133%14%
Week of May 1833%15%
Week of May 2532%15%
Week of Jun 131%14%
Week of Jun 831%14%
Week of Jun 1530%14%
Week of Jun 2230%14%
Week of Jun 2930%14%
Week of Jul 630%14%
Week of Jul 1330%14%
Week of Jul 2030%14%
Week of Jul 2730%14%
Week of Aug 330%14%
Week of Aug 1031%15%
Week of Aug 1731%15%
Week of Aug 2430%14%
Week of Aug 3131%15%
Week of Sep 731%15%
Week of Sep 1431%15%
Week of Sep 2131%15%
Week of Sep 2831%15%
Week of Oct 531%14%

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

Demo data

  • Food

  • Housing

  • Health

  • Money

  • Work

  • Legal help

See the numbers for every kind of help
FoodHousingHealthMoneyWorkLegal help
Week of Oct 13632492660Under 1046
Week of Oct 20682502559Under 1048
Week of Oct 27712452559Under 1051
Week of Nov 3772412563Under 1053
Week of Nov 10852422461Under 1054
Week of Nov 17872422461Under 1055
Week of Nov 24842442564Under 1057
Week of Dec 1862502663Under 1057
Week of Dec 8862512763Under 1061
Week of Dec 15802602663Under 1060
Week of Dec 22712772967Under 1058
Week of Dec 29652892973Under 1058
Week of Jan 5583073175Under 1058
Week of Jan 12523203379Under 1057
Week of Jan 19513162989Under 1056
Week of Jan 26493112996Under 1056
Week of Feb 24730727105Under 1056
Week of Feb 94530224115Under 1055
Week of Feb 164729224119Under 1055
Week of Feb 235027925115Under 1054
Week of Mar 25126525114Under 1057
Week of Mar 95125025114Under 1057
Week of Mar 165323425118Under 1057
Week of Mar 235422725121Under 1054
Week of Mar 305622024128Under 1054
Week of Apr 65721425137Under 1052
Week of Apr 135821025138Under 1051
Week of Apr 205920727119Under 1049
Week of Apr 276020126103Under 1051
Week of May 4602042585Under 1054
Week of May 11592052464Under 1056
Week of May 18602062462Under 1056
Week of May 25642062462Under 1052
Week of Jun 1652032562Under 1052
Week of Jun 8682042562Under 1050
Week of Jun 156820524621251
Week of Jun 226320224631250
Week of Jun 296120225631251
Week of Jul 66220826611349
Week of Jul 136121027611353
Week of Jul 205921426621251
Week of Jul 276121526621152
Week of Aug 36221727631154
Week of Aug 106021927631052
Week of Aug 176322027631052
Week of Aug 246621726631049
Week of Aug 31702122561Under 1048
Week of Sep 77421224631046
Week of Sep 14762142562Under 1045
Week of Sep 21732272561Under 1044
Week of Sep 28712392662Under 1045
Week of Oct 5592162154Under 1041

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