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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 weeks, people in Texas asked most about Housing (53%), then Food (14%) and Money (13%). Rising fastest from the week before: Work, up 3%.

Choose what to show

Time

Texas, Jul 20, 2026 to Oct 11, 2026

Questions
About 43,000Demo data

▼ -1% vs the week before

Needed help this week
About 14,000Demo data
Unmet needNo program and no listed place nearby fit
About 6,900Demo data

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

Demo data

See the numbers
FoodHousingHealthMoneyCareWorkEducationLegal help, safety and otherTotal
Week of Jul 204471,90818846415104674193,612
Week of Jul 274491,89618847015102684193,607
Week of Aug 34401,9031894641791684383,610
Week of Aug 104521,9251914601789694313,634
Week of Aug 174651,9381884601886584223,635
Week of Aug 244921,8841874571586434133,577
Week of Aug 315121,9181844601485284013,602
Week of Sep 75301,9441784661485183793,614
Week of Sep 145491,925178466Under 1081Under 103703,589
Week of Sep 215351,922184455Under 1087Under 103793,581
Week of Sep 285171,913186454Under 1090Under 103823,560
Week of Oct 54431,719168422Under 1081Under 103543,204

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

  1. 01Housing22,79553% of all0%
  2. 02Food5,83114% of all▼ -3%
  3. 03Money5,49813% of all0%
  1. 04Legal help4,29610% of all▲ +1%
  2. 05Health2,2095% of all▲ +1%
  3. 06Work1,0672% of all▲ +3%
  4. 07Safety5111% of all0%
  5. 08Education4421% of allNot enough
  6. 09Care176<1% of all0%

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
Housing22,7950%4,762
Food5,831-3%240
Money5,4980%714
Legal help4,296+1%976
Health2,209+1%112
Work1,067+3%60
Safety5110%16
Education44226
Care1760%Under 10

Share by week. Each kind of help's share of all questions, week by week.

Demo data

See the numbers
FoodHousingHealthMoneyCareWorkEducationLegal help, safety and other
Week of Jul 2012%53%5%13%0%3%2%12%
Week of Jul 2712%53%5%13%0%3%2%12%
Week of Aug 312%53%5%13%0%3%2%12%
Week of Aug 1012%53%5%13%0%2%2%12%
Week of Aug 1713%53%5%13%0%2%2%12%
Week of Aug 2414%53%5%13%0%2%1%12%
Week of Aug 3114%53%5%13%0%2%1%11%
Week of Sep 715%54%5%13%0%2%0%10%
Week of Sep 1415%54%5%13%Under 102%Under 1010%
Week of Sep 2115%54%5%13%Under 102%Under 1011%
Week of Sep 2815%54%5%13%Under 103%Under 1011%
Week of Oct 514%54%5%13%Under 103%Under 1011%
  1. 01Housing22,79553.2%
  2. 02Food5,83113.6%
  3. 03Money5,49812.8%
  4. 04Legal help, safety and other4,80711.2%
  5. 05Health2,2095.2%
  6. 06Work1,0672.5%
  7. 07Education4421%
  8. 08Care1760.4%

Where. Questions by county in Texas.

Demo data

Shading

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

Most questions

  1. 01Harris County7,167▼ -1%
  2. 02Dallas County3,822▼ -1%
  3. 03Tarrant County3,1560%
  4. 04Bexar County2,996▼ -1%
  5. 05Travis County1,947▼ -1%
  6. 06Collin County1,772▼ -1%
  7. 07Denton County1,4840%
  8. 08Fort Bend County1,376▼ -2%
  9. 09Hidalgo County1,302▼ -1%
  10. 10El Paso County1,273▼ -1%
  11. 11Montgomery County1,0480%
  12. 12Williamson County1,015▲ +1%
  13. 13Cameron County6210%
  14. 14Brazoria County577▲ +2%
  15. 15Bell County566▲ +2%
See the numbers: County
CountyQuestionsThis weekUnmet
Harris County7,1672,4021,229
Dallas County3,8221,231642
Tarrant County3,1561,022559
Bexar County2,9961,003514
Travis County1,947634349
Collin County1,772590310
Denton County1,484488254
Fort Bend County1,376447229
Hidalgo County1,302447212
El Paso County1,273428217
Montgomery County1,048360183
Williamson County1,015351164
Cameron County621211102
Brazoria County57718984
Bell County56619492
Galveston County52718282
Nueces County48515978
Lubbock County46414378
Hays County41212569
McLennan County37912169
Webb County37411863
Jefferson County36611367
Brazos County35711064
Smith County35611167
Ellis County32910458
Johnson County29010144
Comal County2829042
Kaufman County2789547
Guadalupe County2729146
Midland County2529243
Parker County2509031
Ector County2348136
Randall County2107334
Grayson County2057028
Taylor County1977430
Rockwall County1927431
Wichita County1806527
Gregg County1726927
Tom Green County1676221
Hunt County1636025
Bastrop County1625120
Liberty County1615620
Potter County1555418
Victoria County1203314
Bowie County1162812
Henderson County1152912
Angelina County1142812
Orange County1122813
Coryell County1112612
Walker County1082512
Wise County1062412
San Patricio County882412
Hood County872212
Harrison County862312
Starr County842012
Waller County842112
Nacogdoches County831812
Van Zandt County832012
Hardin County781712
Maverick County781712
Wilson County781512
Anderson County771512
Burnet County771212
Medina County771612
Navarro County761512
Rusk County751412
Chambers County741412
Polk County741412
Atascosa County731212
Caldwell County721212
Cherokee County721212
Kendall County721212
Kerr County721212
Lamar County721212
Val Verde County721212
Wood County721212
Cooke County701212
Erath County671211
Upshur County671211
Wharton County6112Under 10
Brown County5512Under 10
Hill County5412Under 10
Hopkins County5412Under 10
Jim Wells County5312Under 10
Washington County4912Under 10
Fannin County4812Under 10
Matagorda County4812Under 10
Austin County4112Under 10
Jasper County3912Under 10
Grimes County3812Under 10
Hale County3512Under 10
Bee County3312Under 10
Howard County3312Under 10
Titus County3312Under 10
Palo Pinto County2812Under 10
San Jacinto County2812Under 10
Cass County2712Under 10
Kleberg County2712Under 10
Gillespie County2512Under 10
Milam County2512Under 10
Fayette County2311Under 10
Uvalde County2210Under 10
Aransas County20Under 10Under 10
Llano County17Under 10Under 10
Shelby County16Under 10Under 10
Gaines County14Under 10Under 10
Panola County14Under 10Under 10
Lampasas County13Under 10Under 10
Andrews County12Under 10Under 10
Archer County12Under 10Under 10
Bandera County12Under 10Under 10
Blanco County12Under 10Under 10
Bosque County12Under 10Under 10
Brewster County12Under 10Under 10
Burleson County12Under 10Under 10
Calhoun County12Under 10Under 10
Callahan County12Under 10Under 10
Camp County12Under 10Under 10
Clay County12Under 10Under 10
Colorado County12Under 10Under 10
Comanche County12Under 10Under 10
Dawson County12Under 10Under 10
Deaf Smith County12Under 10Under 10
DeWitt County12Under 10Under 10
Duval County12Under 10Under 10
Eastland County12Under 10Under 10
Falls County12Under 10Under 10
Franklin County12Under 10Under 10
Freestone County12Under 10Under 10
Frio County12Under 10Under 10
Gonzales County12Under 10Under 10
Gray County12Under 10Under 10
Hockley County12Under 10Under 10
Houston County12Under 10Under 10
Hutchinson County12Under 10Under 10
Jack County12Under 10Under 10
Jackson County12Under 10Under 10
Jones County12Under 10Under 10
Karnes County12Under 10Under 10
Lamb County12Under 10Under 10
Lavaca County12Under 10Under 10
Lee County12Under 10Under 10
Leon County12Under 10Under 10
Limestone County12Under 10Under 10
Live Oak County12Under 10Under 10
Madison County12Under 10Under 10
Marion County12Under 10Under 10
Montague County12Under 10Under 10
Moore County12Under 10Under 10
Morris County12Under 10Under 10
Newton County12Under 10Under 10
Nolan County12Under 10Under 10
Ochiltree County12Under 10Under 10
Parmer County12Under 10Under 10
Pecos County12Under 10Under 10
Rains County12Under 10Under 10
Red River County12Under 10Under 10
Reeves County12Under 10Under 10
Robertson County12Under 10Under 10
Runnels County12Under 10Under 10
Sabine County12Under 10Under 10
Scurry County12Under 10Under 10
Somervell County12Under 10Under 10
Stephens County12Under 10Under 10
Terry County12Under 10Under 10
Trinity County12Under 10Under 10
Tyler County12Under 10Under 10
Ward County12Under 10Under 10
Wilbarger County12Under 10Under 10
Willacy County12Under 10Under 10
Young County12Under 10Under 10
Zapata County12Under 10Under 10
Zavala County12Under 10Under 10
Mitchell County11Under 10Under 10
Coleman CountyUnder 10Under 10Under 10
Dimmit CountyUnder 10Under 10Under 10
Hamilton 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 Jul 2032%17%
Week of Jul 2732%16%
Week of Aug 331%16%
Week of Aug 1031%16%
Week of Aug 1731%16%
Week of Aug 2432%16%
Week of Aug 3132%16%
Week of Sep 732%16%
Week of Sep 1432%16%
Week of Sep 2132%17%
Week of Sep 2832%16%
Week of Oct 532%16%

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 Jul 204471,908188464156710437841
Week of Jul 274491,896188470156810237841
Week of Aug 34401,90318946417689139345
Week of Aug 104521,92519146017698938843
Week of Aug 174651,93818846018588637943
Week of Aug 244921,88418745715438636944
Week of Aug 315121,91818446014288535744
Week of Sep 75301,94417846614188533742
Week of Sep 145491,925178466Under 10Under 108132743
Week of Sep 215351,922184455Under 10Under 108733643
Week of Sep 285171,913186454Under 10Under 109033943
Week of Oct 54431,719168422Under 10Under 108131539

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, through the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center. Checked October 10, 2026. License: CC BY. Read it: 2-1-1 Requests/Referrals (2023-2025) and 2-1-1 Requests (2020-2023)
  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, November 13, 2025. Read it: States scramble to send full SNAP food benefits to millions of people after government shutdown ends
  3. 3. Using 211 Data to Gauge Eighth District Economic Conditions. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, On the Economy (Summers-Gabr, Rodgers), February 9, 2026. Read it: Using 211 Data to Gauge Eighth District Economic Conditions
  4. 4. Eviction Tracking System: Version 3.0, all sites monthly data. The Eviction Lab, Princeton University (Hepburn, Haas, et al.), 2026. Read it: Eviction Tracking System: Version 3.0, all sites monthly data
  5. 5. A New Baseline: Changes to Our Eviction Metrics. The Eviction Lab, May 8, 2025. Read it: A New Baseline: Changes to Our Eviction Metrics
  6. 6. Preliminary Analysis: Eviction Filing Patterns in 2022. The Eviction Lab (Vallejo, Haas, Hepburn), March 9, 2023. Read it: Preliminary Analysis: Eviction Filing Patterns in 2022
  7. 7. State Medicaid and CHIP Applications, Eligibility Determinations, and Enrollment Data, September 2026 release. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), September 25, 2026. License: U.S. Government Works. Read it: State Medicaid and CHIP Applications, Eligibility Determinations, and Enrollment Data, September 2026 release
  8. 8. Dates and deadlines for 2027 health insurance. HealthCare.gov (CMS). Checked October 10, 2026. Read it: Dates and deadlines for 2027 health insurance
  9. 9. Washington health insurance marketplace. healthinsurance.org, October 5, 2026. Read it: Washington health insurance marketplace
  10. 10. 2025 filing season statistics. IRS Newsroom, 2025. Read it: 2025 filing season statistics
  11. 11. Working Families Tax Credit application window opens Feb. 1. Washington State Department of Revenue, January 29, 2026. Read it: Working Families Tax Credit application window opens Feb. 1
  12. 12. Working Families Tax Credit Program, 2025 Report to the Legislature. Washington State Department of Revenue, December 29, 2025. Read it: Working Families Tax Credit Program, 2025 Report to the Legislature
  13. 13. IR-2016-143: Refunds claiming EITC or ACTC held until at least Feb. 15. IRS, October 28, 2016. Read it: IR-2016-143: Refunds claiming EITC or ACTC held until at least Feb. 15
  14. 14. You can begin filing your taxes on Jan. 26 this year. PBS NewsHour, January 8, 2026. Read it: You can begin filing your taxes on Jan. 26 this year
  15. 15. ETA 539 weekly claims data, by state. U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Checked October 10, 2026. Read it: ETA 539 weekly claims data, by state
  16. 16. Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims news release. U.S. Department of Labor, October 8, 2026. Read it: Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims news release
  17. 17. Education Department opens 2027-28 FAFSA early, marking program's earliest launch. The National News Desk (Emma Koppelman), via KATU, September 24, 2026. Read it: Education Department opens 2027-28 FAFSA early, marking program's earliest launch
  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), November 20, 2020. Read it: The Effect of Holidays on Calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline: Comparing Average Call Volume
  19. 19. #CallUtilitiesNow: PUC urges consumers to contact utilities as winter termination moratorium ends March 31, 2023. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, March 28, 2023. Read it: #CallUtilitiesNow: PUC urges consumers to contact utilities as winter termination moratorium ends March 31, 2023
  20. 20. WAC 480-100-143 Winter low-income payment program. Washington State Legislature. Checked October 10, 2026. Read it: WAC 480-100-143 Winter low-income payment program
  21. 21. LIHEAP. Washington State Department of Commerce. Checked October 10, 2026. Read it: LIHEAP
  22. 22. Nearly 1 million assistance calls made to 211 in August. The Source, Washington University in St. Louis (Neil Schoenherr), September 20, 2023. Read it: Nearly 1 million assistance calls made to 211 in August
  23. 23. 211 helpline data reveals most pressing U.S. community needs (2025 data). United Way Worldwide, March 31, 2026. Read it: 211 helpline data reveals most pressing U.S. community needs (2025 data)
  24. 24. The Facts About 211: 2025 Impact Snapshot. United Way Worldwide, 2026. Read it: The Facts About 211: 2025 Impact Snapshot
  25. 25. 211 helpline data reveals most pressing U.S. community needs (2024 data). United Way Worldwide, March 26, 2025. Read it: 211 helpline data reveals most pressing U.S. community needs (2024 data)
  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), September 9, 2023. Read it: Calls to 211 helpline rise in August to the highest level of 2023