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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 South Carolina asked most about Housing (50%), then Money (17%) and Food (13%). Rising fastest from the week before: Housing, up 2%.

Choose what to show

South Carolina, Oct 13, 2025 to Oct 11, 2026

QuestionsDemo data
32,106

0% vs the week before

Needed help this weekDemo data
10,046
Unmet needDemo dataNo program and no listed place nearby fit
4,727

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 13833203382Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10601
Week of Oct 20863233181Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10607
Week of Oct 27923103181Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10603
Week of Nov 31043043081Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10614
Week of Nov 101062953180Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10607
Week of Nov 171072943179Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10609
Week of Nov 241112933179Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10614
Week of Dec 11092923180Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10616
Week of Dec 81092923280Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10619
Week of Dec 151072953284Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10623
Week of Dec 22963143486Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10638
Week of Dec 29843233590Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10638
Week of Jan 57433237100Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10648
Week of Jan 126534238103Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10651
Week of Jan 196334037115Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10656
Week of Jan 266333735124Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10660
Week of Feb 25933433135Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10661
Week of Feb 95933131148Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10664
Week of Feb 165932130152Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10658
Week of Feb 236230729151Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10645
Week of Mar 26230730149Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10645
Week of Mar 96430230149Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10643
Week of Mar 166730030156Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10650
Week of Mar 236929632161Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10652
Week of Mar 307030132167Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10661
Week of Apr 67330131172Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10663
Week of Apr 137529932178Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10668
Week of Apr 207529931156Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10646
Week of Apr 277629830134Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10624
Week of May 47929831109Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10607
Week of May 11783023083Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10583
Week of May 18803033081Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10583
Week of May 25813042780Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10582
Week of Jun 1843092779Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10591
Week of Jun 8853122679Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10590
Week of Jun 15843102879Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10588
Week of Jun 22863073181Under 1018Under 10Under 10596
Week of Jun 29793093282Under 1018Under 10Under 10597
Week of Jul 6763083182Under 1018Under 10Under 10592
Week of Jul 13773083182Under 1018Under 10Under 10597
Week of Jul 20793123381Under 1018Under 10Under 10606
Week of Jul 27803123482Under 1015Under 10Under 10607
Week of Aug 3763163180Under 1014Under 10Under 10601
Week of Aug 10803133281Under 1014Under 10Under 10604
Week of Aug 17813113181Under 1013Under 10Under 10598
Week of Aug 24883143180Under 1013Under 10Under 10602
Week of Aug 31893113081Under 1013Under 10Under 10595
Week of Sep 7993033082Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10592
Week of Sep 14973083079Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10592
Week of Sep 21933163182Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10599
Week of Sep 28883223182Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10600
Week of Oct 5722773071Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10520

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 helpQuestionsChange from the week beforeUnmet
Housing16,087+2%3,332
Money5,3120%634
Food4,240-5%44
Legal help3,4770%717
Health1,6280%Under 10
Work9050%Under 10
Safety369Under 10
Education88Under 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 202518%49%5%13%Under 103%Under 1013%
December 202516%48%5%13%Under 104%Under 1013%
January 202610%52%6%17%Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10
February 20269%49%5%22%Under 103%Under 1012%
March 202610%46%5%24%Under 102%Under 1012%
April 202611%46%5%25%Under 103%Under 1011%
May 202614%51%5%15%Under 103%Under 1013%
June 202614%52%5%14%Under 103%0%12%
July 202613%52%5%14%Under 103%2%12%
August 202614%52%5%13%Under 102%1%12%
September 202616%52%5%14%Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10
October 202614%53%6%14%Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10
  1. 01Housing16,08750.1%
  2. 02Money5,31216.5%
  3. 03Food4,24013.2%
  4. 04Other (legal help, safety)3,84612%
  5. 05Health1,6285.1%
  6. 06Work9052.8%
  7. 07Education880.3%
  8. CareFewer than 10

Where. Questions by county in South Carolina.

Demo data

Shading

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

Most questions

  1. 01Greenville County3,4740%
  2. 02Charleston County2,6530%
  3. 03Richland County2,627â–² +2%
  4. 04Horry County2,5250%
  5. 05Spartanburg County2,2220%
  6. 06Lexington County1,904â–² +3%
  7. 07York County1,851â–² +3%
  8. 08Berkeley County1,609â–¼ -3%
  9. 09Anderson County1,2920%
  10. 10Beaufort County1,2060%
  11. 11Aiken County1,0750%
  12. 12Dorchester County1,049â–² +5%
  13. 13Florence County842â–² +8%
  14. 14Pickens County8370%
  15. 15Lancaster County6690%
See the numbers: County
CountyQuestionsThis weekUnmet
Greenville County3,4741,173573
Charleston County2,653890421
Richland County2,627878408
Horry County2,525864401
Spartanburg County2,222730351
Lexington County1,904600314
York County1,851593296
Berkeley County1,609496270
Anderson County1,292417217
Beaufort County1,206401196
Aiken County1,075365175
Dorchester County1,049359161
Florence County842299134
Pickens County837287122
Lancaster County66922885
Sumter County63618773
Orangeburg County48512252
Oconee County46812352
Kershaw County3919852
Greenwood County38510052
Laurens County3838852
Georgetown County3658352
Darlington County3477652
Cherokee County3275952
Chesterfield County2845228
Colleton County22952Under 10
Newberry County22952Under 10
Jasper County20452Under 10
Chester County16552Under 10
Clarendon County15152Under 10
Edgefield County1364910
Williamsburg County1335014
Marion County12344Under 10
Dillon County11435Under 10
Union County10228Under 10
Marlboro County79Under 10Under 10
Abbeville County72Under 10Under 10
Fairfield County65Under 10Under 10
Barnwell County64Under 10Under 10
Saluda County63Under 10Under 10
Hampton County60Under 10Under 10
Lee County55Under 10Under 10
Bamberg County52Under 10Under 10
Calhoun County52Under 10Under 10
McCormick County52Under 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%15%
Week of Oct 2033%14%
Week of Oct 2733%14%
Week of Nov 331%15%
Week of Nov 1031%15%
Week of Nov 1731%15%
Week of Nov 2431%14%
Week of Dec 131%14%
Week of Dec 831%14%
Week of Dec 1532%14%
Week of Dec 2231%15%
Week of Dec 2930%16%
Week of Jan 532%15%
Week of Jan 1231%15%
Week of Jan 1930%15%
Week of Jan 2632%15%
Week of Feb 231%16%
Week of Feb 931%16%
Week of Feb 1631%16%
Week of Feb 2330%15%
Week of Mar 232%15%
Week of Mar 931%15%
Week of Mar 1631%16%
Week of Mar 2332%16%
Week of Mar 3031%15%
Week of Apr 631%14%
Week of Apr 1331%14%
Week of Apr 2031%14%
Week of Apr 2731%13%
Week of May 430%15%
Week of May 1132%15%
Week of May 1832%15%
Week of May 2532%15%
Week of Jun 133%15%
Week of Jun 833%14%
Week of Jun 1533%15%
Week of Jun 2231%14%
Week of Jun 2930%14%
Week of Jul 631%14%
Week of Jul 1333%14%
Week of Jul 2030%14%
Week of Jul 2730%15%
Week of Aug 331%15%
Week of Aug 1030%15%
Week of Aug 1731%15%
Week of Aug 2432%15%
Week of Aug 3133%14%
Week of Sep 731%14%
Week of Sep 1431%15%
Week of Sep 2132%15%
Week of Sep 2833%14%
Week of Oct 531%15%

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 13833203382Under 1061
Week of Oct 20863233181Under 1063
Week of Oct 27923103181Under 1065
Week of Nov 31043043081Under 1069
Week of Nov 101062953180Under 1070
Week of Nov 171072943179Under 1071
Week of Nov 241112933179Under 1074
Week of Dec 11092923180Under 1075
Week of Dec 81092923280Under 1075
Week of Dec 151072953284Under 1073
Week of Dec 22963143486Under 1076
Week of Dec 29843233590Under 1076
Week of Jan 57433237100Under 1074
Week of Jan 126534238103Under 1073
Week of Jan 196334037115Under 1070
Week of Jan 266333735124Under 1073
Week of Feb 25933433135Under 1072
Week of Feb 95933131148Under 1069
Week of Feb 165932130152Under 1069
Week of Feb 236230729151Under 1072
Week of Mar 26230730149Under 1074
Week of Mar 96430230149Under 1075
Week of Mar 166730030156Under 1074
Week of Mar 236929632161Under 1070
Week of Mar 307030132167Under 1068
Week of Apr 67330131172Under 1063
Week of Apr 137529932178Under 1061
Week of Apr 207529931156Under 1062
Week of Apr 277629830134Under 1063
Week of May 47929831109Under 1067
Week of May 11783023083Under 1068
Week of May 18803033081Under 1067
Week of May 25813042780Under 1065
Week of Jun 1843092779Under 1067
Week of Jun 8853122679Under 1063
Week of Jun 15843102879Under 1062
Week of Jun 228630731811863
Week of Jun 297930932821863
Week of Jul 67630831821862
Week of Jul 137730831821863
Week of Jul 207931233811866
Week of Jul 278031234821567
Week of Aug 37631631801467
Week of Aug 108031332811467
Week of Aug 178131131811366
Week of Aug 248831431801362
Week of Aug 318931130811360
Week of Sep 7993033082Under 1058
Week of Sep 14973083079Under 1058
Week of Sep 21933163182Under 1057
Week of Sep 28883223182Under 1057
Week of Oct 5722773071Under 1052

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