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

Choose what to show

Utah, Oct 13, 2025 to Oct 11, 2026

QuestionsDemo data
20,563

▲ +2% vs the week before

Needed help this weekDemo data
6,409
Unmet needDemo dataNo program and no listed place nearby fit
3,284

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 13532142051Under 1011Under 10Under 10392
Week of Oct 20582032052Under 1011Under 10Under 10392
Week of Oct 27612012153Under 1012Under 10Under 10396
Week of Nov 3631992050Under 1012Under 10Under 10394
Week of Nov 10661971950Under 1012Under 10Under 10397
Week of Nov 17661981950Under 1013Under 10Under 10400
Week of Nov 24672032152Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10408
Week of Dec 1652072153Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10415
Week of Dec 8652092152Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10418
Week of Dec 15642082154Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10419
Week of Dec 22602232255Under 1015Under 10Under 10431
Week of Dec 29532382258Under 1015Under 10Under 10441
Week of Jan 5482542361Under 1015Under 10Under 10454
Week of Jan 12412652463Under 1016Under 10Under 10463
Week of Jan 19402632367Under 1015Under 10Under 10461
Week of Jan 26422552279Under 1015Under 10Under 10464
Week of Feb 2382552084Under 1014Under 10Under 10460
Week of Feb 9372512091Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10460
Week of Feb 16372381991Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10446
Week of Feb 23392232193Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10441
Week of Mar 2442122095Under 1011Under 10Under 10436
Week of Mar 9442022095Under 1011Under 10Under 10427
Week of Mar 16452002098Under 1011Under 10Under 10426
Week of Mar 23461882199Under 1011Under 10Under 10419
Week of Mar 304818321104Under 1011Under 10Under 10419
Week of Apr 64917720111Under 1011Under 10Under 10416
Week of Apr 134916820109Under 1012Under 10Under 10403
Week of Apr 20491662093Under 1011Under 10Under 10386
Week of Apr 27491661982Under 1011Under 10Under 10377
Week of May 4501721967Under 1012Under 10Under 10371
Week of May 11491701953Under 1011Under 10Under 10353
Week of May 18511721952Under 1011Under 10Under 10356
Week of May 25511701951Under 1011Under 10Under 10352
Week of Jun 1551652053Under 1012Under 10Under 10356
Week of Jun 8571752053Under 1012Under 10Under 10367
Week of Jun 15561691951Under 1013Under 10Under 10358
Week of Jun 22531711953Under 1012Under 10Under 10356
Week of Jun 29521712053Under 1013Under 10Under 10359
Week of Jul 6491712151Under 1013Under 10Under 10360
Week of Jul 13491732251Under 1012Under 10Under 10364
Week of Jul 20481762251Under 1011Under 10Under 10366
Week of Jul 27481762251Under 1011Under 10Under 10366
Week of Aug 3491772150Under 1011Under 10Under 10364
Week of Aug 10511832051Under 1010Under 10Under 10372
Week of Aug 17511832051Under 1010Under 10Under 10369
Week of Aug 24521752050Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10358
Week of Aug 31541742050Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10354
Week of Sep 7611801952Under 1010Under 10Under 10367
Week of Sep 14611792053Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10364
Week of Sep 21601922051Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10374
Week of Sep 28562012052Under 1010Under 10Under 10381
Week of Oct 5461641742Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10315

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

  1. 01Housing10,20550% of all▲ +5%
  2. 02Money3,33716% of all▲ +2%
  3. 03Food2,69513% of all▼ -7%
  1. 04Legal help2,27711% of all0%
  2. 05Health1,0585% of all0%
  3. 06Work6173% of allNot enough
  4. 07Safety2391% of allNot enough
  5. 08Education90<1% of allNot enough
  6. 09Care45<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
Housing10,205+5%2,148
Money3,337+2%444
Food2,695-7%107
Legal help2,2770%516
Health1,0580%50
Work61719
Safety239Under 10
Education90Under 10
Care45Under 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 202516%50%5%13%Under 103%Under 1013%
December 202514%51%5%13%Under 103%Under 1013%
January 20269%56%5%15%Under 103%Under 1011%
February 20268%54%4%20%Under 103%Under 10Under 10
March 202611%46%5%23%Under 103%Under 10Under 10
April 202612%43%5%25%Under 103%Under 1012%
May 202614%48%5%16%Under 103%Under 1014%
June 202615%47%5%15%Under 103%Under 1013%
July 202613%48%6%14%Under 103%2%Under 10
August 202614%49%6%14%Under 103%2%Under 10
September 202616%51%5%14%Under 10Under 10Under 1011%
October 202615%52%5%13%Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10
  1. 01Housing10,20549.6%
  2. 02Money3,33716.2%
  3. 03Food2,69513.1%
  4. 04Other (legal help, safety)2,51612.2%
  5. 05Health1,0585.1%
  6. 06Work6173%
  7. 07Education900.4%
  8. 08Care450.2%

Where. Questions by county in Utah.

Demo data

Shading

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

Most questions

  1. 01Salt Lake County7,401▲ +1%
  2. 02Utah County4,512▲ +2%
  3. 03Davis County2,303▲ +2%
  4. 04Weber County1,666▼ -3%
  5. 05Washington County1,225▼ -5%
  6. 06Cache County867▲ +7%
  7. 07Tooele County476
  8. 08Iron County361
  9. 09Box Elder County358
  10. 10Summit County273
  11. 11Uintah County232
  12. 12Wasatch County231
  13. 13Sanpete County140
  14. 14Sevier County74
  15. 15Duchesne County68
See the numbers: County
CountyQuestionsThis weekUnmet
Salt Lake County7,4012,3861,304
Utah County4,5121,551777
Davis County2,303765359
Weber County1,666526277
Washington County1,225397218
Cache County867303123
Tooele County47611556
Iron County3617452
Box Elder County3588052
Summit County2735223
Uintah County2325218
Wasatch County2315211
Sanpete County1404212
Sevier County74Under 10Under 10
Duchesne County68Under 10Under 10
Carbon County66Under 10Under 10
Juab County52Under 10Under 10
Millard County52Under 10Under 10
Morgan County52Under 10Under 10
San Juan County52Under 10Under 10
Emery County41Under 10Under 10
Grand County35Under 10Under 10
Beaver CountyUnder 10Under 10Under 10
Kane 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 1331%17%
Week of Oct 2032%16%
Week of Oct 2731%16%
Week of Nov 331%17%
Week of Nov 1032%17%
Week of Nov 1732%17%
Week of Nov 2431%16%
Week of Dec 133%15%
Week of Dec 832%16%
Week of Dec 1533%15%
Week of Dec 2231%17%
Week of Dec 2932%18%
Week of Jan 532%18%
Week of Jan 1231%18%
Week of Jan 1934%18%
Week of Jan 2631%16%
Week of Feb 232%17%
Week of Feb 931%18%
Week of Feb 1632%17%
Week of Feb 2332%17%
Week of Mar 230%16%
Week of Mar 930%16%
Week of Mar 1630%15%
Week of Mar 2332%14%
Week of Mar 3032%16%
Week of Apr 632%16%
Week of Apr 1331%16%
Week of Apr 2031%16%
Week of Apr 2731%15%
Week of May 432%15%
Week of May 1130%15%
Week of May 1831%15%
Week of May 2532%17%
Week of Jun 132%16%
Week of Jun 831%16%
Week of Jun 1531%16%
Week of Jun 2230%16%
Week of Jun 2930%16%
Week of Jul 630%15%
Week of Jul 1331%16%
Week of Jul 2028%14%
Week of Jul 2729%14%
Week of Aug 330%15%
Week of Aug 1030%16%
Week of Aug 1730%16%
Week of Aug 2431%16%
Week of Aug 3132%15%
Week of Sep 731%14%
Week of Sep 1431%15%
Week of Sep 2130%14%
Week of Sep 2831%15%
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

  • Work

  • Legal help

See the numbers for every kind of help
FoodHousingHealthMoneyWorkLegal help
Week of Oct 135321420511138
Week of Oct 205820320521141
Week of Oct 276120121531241
Week of Nov 36319920501245
Week of Nov 106619719501246
Week of Nov 176619819501348
Week of Nov 24672032152Under 1047
Week of Dec 1652072153Under 1049
Week of Dec 8652092152Under 1050
Week of Dec 15642082154Under 1051
Week of Dec 226022322551548
Week of Dec 295323822581548
Week of Jan 54825423611548
Week of Jan 124126524631648
Week of Jan 194026323671548
Week of Jan 264225522791546
Week of Feb 23825520841444
Week of Feb 9372512091Under 1044
Week of Feb 16372381991Under 1044
Week of Feb 23392232193Under 1048
Week of Mar 24421220951148
Week of Mar 94420220951149
Week of Mar 164520020981147
Week of Mar 234618821991149
Week of Mar 3048183211041147
Week of Apr 649177201111143
Week of Apr 1349168201091240
Week of Apr 204916620931141
Week of Apr 274916619821144
Week of May 45017219671243
Week of May 114917019531144
Week of May 185117219521144
Week of May 255117019511143
Week of Jun 15516520531244
Week of Jun 85717520531244
Week of Jun 155616919511343
Week of Jun 225317119531241
Week of Jun 295217120531341
Week of Jul 64917121511342
Week of Jul 134917322511243
Week of Jul 204817622511145
Week of Jul 274817622511145
Week of Aug 34917721501142
Week of Aug 105118320511043
Week of Aug 175118320511041
Week of Aug 24521752050Under 1041
Week of Aug 31541742050Under 1038
Week of Sep 76118019521038
Week of Sep 14611792053Under 1035
Week of Sep 21601922051Under 1037
Week of Sep 285620120521037
Week of Oct 5461641742Under 1033

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