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 Washington asked most about Housing (49%), then Money (16%) and Food (13%). Rising fastest from the week before: Safety, up 9%.

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

Demo data

Food
Housing
Health
Money
Care
Work
Education
Other (legal help, safety)

See the numbers

	Food	Housing	Health	Money	Care	Work	Education	Other (legal help, safety)	Total
Week of Oct 13	122	468	54	118	Under 10	24	Under 10	103	889
Week of Oct 20	131	459	51	119	Under 10	23	Under 10	110	893
Week of Oct 27	136	450	50	119	Under 10	23	Under 10	114	892
Week of Nov 3	143	459	49	120	Under 10	26	Under 10	118	915
Week of Nov 10	149	447	48	117	Under 10	27	Under 10	122	910
Week of Nov 17	150	452	49	117	Under 10	27	Under 10	124	919
Week of Nov 24	159	455	48	122	Under 10	28	Under 10	129	941
Week of Dec 1	157	466	50	122	Under 10	32	Under 10	125	952
Week of Dec 8	157	475	54	123	Under 10	34	Under 10	132	975
Week of Dec 15	151	491	52	122	Under 10	36	Under 10	132	984
Week of Dec 22	140	524	56	131	Under 10	36	Under 10	131	1,018
Week of Dec 29	126	551	57	136	Under 10	37	Under 10	130	1,037
Week of Jan 5	110	578	57	142	Under 10	38	Under 10	124	1,049
Week of Jan 12	99	581	58	146	Under 10	40	Under 10	Under 10	924
Week of Jan 19	97	575	57	164	Under 10	36	Under 10	115	1,044
Week of Jan 26	96	578	55	184	Under 10	32	Under 10	115	1,060
Week of Feb 2	93	574	53	195	Under 10	30	Under 10	116	1,061
Week of Feb 9	90	557	50	213	Under 10	28	Under 10	115	1,053
Week of Feb 16	91	544	47	217	Under 10	26	Under 10	118	1,043
Week of Feb 23	98	510	47	217	Under 10	25	Under 10	117	1,014
Week of Mar 2	100	487	51	215	Under 10	25	Under 10	126	1,004
Week of Mar 9	101	469	51	214	Under 10	24	Under 10	129	988
Week of Mar 16	104	456	49	220	Under 10	25	Under 10	123	977
Week of Mar 23	106	436	51	229	Under 10	24	Under 10	118	964
Week of Mar 30	106	416	50	244	Under 10	25	Under 10	116	957
Week of Apr 6	108	394	50	247	Under 10	24	Under 10	Under 10	823
Week of Apr 13	110	380	50	250	Under 10	25	Under 10	Under 10	815
Week of Apr 20	115	388	50	224	Under 10	24	Under 10	109	910
Week of Apr 27	113	387	50	190	Under 10	24	Under 10	112	876
Week of May 4	114	385	47	160	Under 10	23	Under 10	115	844
Week of May 11	117	381	49	127	Under 10	23	Under 10	121	818
Week of May 18	118	384	49	122	Under 10	24	Under 10	119	816
Week of May 25	120	387	50	118	Under 10	25	Under 10	115	815
Week of Jun 1	123	392	44	124	Under 10	24	Under 10	112	819
Week of Jun 8	127	397	46	124	Under 10	24	Under 10	110	828
Week of Jun 15	131	388	48	123	Under 10	25	Under 10	107	822
Week of Jun 22	125	386	48	122	Under 10	26	Under 10	Under 10	707
Week of Jun 29	124	386	48	122	Under 10	27	11	Under 10	718
Week of Jul 6	121	379	53	123	Under 10	28	16	Under 10	720
Week of Jul 13	118	391	54	117	Under 10	27	18	Under 10	725
Week of Jul 20	116	394	53	121	Under 10	25	17	Under 10	726
Week of Jul 27	118	400	53	122	Under 10	25	17	Under 10	735
Week of Aug 3	120	396	54	121	Under 10	24	18	Under 10	733
Week of Aug 10	114	403	54	118	Under 10	23	17	Under 10	729
Week of Aug 17	118	405	53	118	Under 10	23	16	Under 10	733
Week of Aug 24	127	413	52	119	Under 10	23	12	Under 10	746
Week of Aug 31	133	406	50	121	Under 10	22	Under 10	105	837
Week of Sep 7	136	399	48	119	Under 10	23	Under 10	105	830
Week of Sep 14	142	406	48	123	Under 10	22	Under 10	99	840
Week of Sep 21	139	434	49	121	Under 10	23	Under 10	99	865
Week of Sep 28	135	454	49	120	Under 10	23	Under 10	102	883
Week of Oct 5	104	361	39	101	Under 10	20	Under 10	Under 10	625

Washington, Oct 13, 2025 to Oct 11, 2026

QuestionsDemo data: 47,499
Needed help this weekDemo data: 15,193
Unmet needDemo dataNo program and no listed place nearby fit: 7,601

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

Demo data

01
Housing
23,13449% of all
▲ +5% vs the week before
02
Money
7,78316% of all
▼ -1% vs the week before
03
Food
6,29813% of all
▼ -3% vs the week before

04
Legal help
5,35911% of all
▲ +2% vs the week before
05
Health
2,6326% of all
0% vs the week before
06
Work
1,3803% of all
0% vs the week before
07
Safety
6051% of all
▲ +9% vs the week before
08
Education
205<1% of all
Not enough vs the week before
09
Care
103<1% of all
Not enough vs 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	23,134	+5%	4,970
Money	7,783	-1%	1,014
Food	6,298	-3%	261
Legal help	5,359	+2%	1,202
Health	2,632	0%	85
Work	1,380	0%	55
Safety	605	+9%	Under 10
Education	205		Under 10
Care	103		Under 10

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

Demo data

Food
Housing
Health
Money
Care
Work
Education
Other (legal help, safety)

See the numbers

	Food	Housing	Health	Money	Care	Work	Education	Other (legal help, safety)	Total
November 2025	601	1,813	194	476	Under 10	108	Under 10	493	3,685
December 2025	731	2,507	269	634	Under 10	175	Under 10	650	4,966
January 2026	402	2,312	227	636	Under 10	146	Under 10	474	4,197
February 2026	372	2,185	197	842	Under 10	109	Under 10	466	4,171
March 2026	517	2,264	252	1,122	Under 10	123	Under 10	612	4,890
April 2026	446	1,549	200	911	Under 10	97	Under 10	Under 10	3,203
May 2026	469	1,537	195	527	Under 10	95	Under 10	470	3,293
June 2026	630	1,949	234	615	11	126	25	551	4,141
July 2026	473	1,564	213	483	14	105	68	447	3,367
August 2026	612	2,023	263	597	20	115	70	553	4,253
September 2026	552	1,693	194	483	Under 10	91	Under 10	405	3,418
October 2026	104	361	39	101	Under 10	20	Under 10	Under 10	625

Where. Questions by county in Washington.

Demo data

Most questions
More
Some
Fewer
Fewer than 10, or none

Most questions

01King County14,273▲ +2%
02Pierce County5,740▲ +1%
03Snohomish County5,236▲ +4%
04Spokane County3,3400%
05Clark County3,2060%
06Thurston County1,856▲ +3%
07Kitsap County1,712▲ +3%
08Yakima County1,560▲ +4%
09Whatcom County1,4220%
10Benton County1,2940%

See the numbers: County

County	Questions	This week	Unmet
King County	14,273	4,756	2,486
Pierce County	5,740	1,938	965
Snohomish County	5,236	1,789	909
Spokane County	3,340	1,118	552
Clark County	3,206	1,093	522
Thurston County	1,856	605	295
Kitsap County	1,712	545	284
Yakima County	1,560	498	267
Whatcom County	1,422	442	244
Benton County	1,294	422	215
Skagit County	792	273	118
Cowlitz County	692	232	82
Grant County	623	201	66
Franklin County	598	177	59
Island County	496	128	56
Lewis County	489	129	53
Chelan County	455	113	52
Clallam County	433	107	55
Grays Harbor County	429	118	52
Mason County	368	81	52
Walla Walla County	344	73	52
Stevens County	294	57	32
Whitman County	292	56	36
Kittitas County	289	54	30
Douglas County	281	52	26
Okanogan County	276	52	24
Jefferson County	188	52	Under 10
Klickitat County	79	11	Under 10
Pacific County	78	11	Under 10
Asotin County	73	Under 10	Under 10
Adams County	67	Under 10	Under 10
San Juan County	59	Under 10	Under 10
Pend Oreille County	52	Under 10	Under 10
Skamania County	52	Under 10	Under 10
Ferry County	Under 10	Under 10	Under 10
Lincoln County	Under 10	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

Needed help this week
Unmet need

See the numbers

	Needed help this week	Unmet need
Week of Oct 13	32%	17%
Week of Oct 20	33%	17%
Week of Oct 27	33%	17%
Week of Nov 3	33%	17%
Week of Nov 10	33%	16%
Week of Nov 17	33%	16%
Week of Nov 24	33%	16%
Week of Dec 1	33%	15%
Week of Dec 8	33%	15%
Week of Dec 15	33%	16%
Week of Dec 22	32%	16%
Week of Dec 29	32%	16%
Week of Jan 5	34%	17%
Week of Jan 12	34%	18%
Week of Jan 19	34%	18%
Week of Jan 26	32%	17%
Week of Feb 2	32%	17%
Week of Feb 9	32%	17%
Week of Feb 16	31%	17%
Week of Feb 23	32%	17%
Week of Mar 2	31%	15%
Week of Mar 9	31%	16%
Week of Mar 16	31%	17%
Week of Mar 23	31%	16%
Week of Mar 30	32%	15%
Week of Apr 6	31%	16%
Week of Apr 13	32%	15%
Week of Apr 20	31%	16%
Week of Apr 27	31%	16%
Week of May 4	30%	16%
Week of May 11	32%	15%
Week of May 18	32%	16%
Week of May 25	32%	15%
Week of Jun 1	32%	16%
Week of Jun 8	33%	15%
Week of Jun 15	32%	16%
Week of Jun 22	31%	16%
Week of Jun 29	31%	16%
Week of Jul 6	31%	16%
Week of Jul 13	31%	15%
Week of Jul 20	31%	16%
Week of Jul 27	31%	16%
Week of Aug 3	31%	16%
Week of Aug 10	32%	16%
Week of Aug 17	32%	16%
Week of Aug 24	32%	16%
Week of Aug 31	31%	16%
Week of Sep 7	31%	15%
Week of Sep 14	32%	16%
Week of Sep 21	32%	16%
Week of Sep 28	32%	16%
Week of Oct 5	31%	16%

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

Demo data

Food

See the numbers

	Food
Week of Oct 13	122
Week of Oct 20	131
Week of Oct 27	136
Week of Nov 3	143
Week of Nov 10	149
Week of Nov 17	150
Week of Nov 24	159
Week of Dec 1	157
Week of Dec 8	157
Week of Dec 15	151
Week of Dec 22	140
Week of Dec 29	126
Week of Jan 5	110
Week of Jan 12	99
Week of Jan 19	97
Week of Jan 26	96
Week of Feb 2	93
Week of Feb 9	90
Week of Feb 16	91
Week of Feb 23	98
Week of Mar 2	100
Week of Mar 9	101
Week of Mar 16	104
Week of Mar 23	106
Week of Mar 30	106
Week of Apr 6	108
Week of Apr 13	110
Week of Apr 20	115
Week of Apr 27	113
Week of May 4	114
Week of May 11	117
Week of May 18	118
Week of May 25	120
Week of Jun 1	123
Week of Jun 8	127
Week of Jun 15	131
Week of Jun 22	125
Week of Jun 29	124
Week of Jul 6	121
Week of Jul 13	118
Week of Jul 20	116
Week of Jul 27	118
Week of Aug 3	120
Week of Aug 10	114
Week of Aug 17	118
Week of Aug 24	127
Week of Aug 31	133
Week of Sep 7	136
Week of Sep 14	142
Week of Sep 21	139
Week of Sep 28	135
Week of Oct 5	104

Housing

See the numbers

	Housing
Week of Oct 13	468
Week of Oct 20	459
Week of Oct 27	450
Week of Nov 3	459
Week of Nov 10	447
Week of Nov 17	452
Week of Nov 24	455
Week of Dec 1	466
Week of Dec 8	475
Week of Dec 15	491
Week of Dec 22	524
Week of Dec 29	551
Week of Jan 5	578
Week of Jan 12	581
Week of Jan 19	575
Week of Jan 26	578
Week of Feb 2	574
Week of Feb 9	557
Week of Feb 16	544
Week of Feb 23	510
Week of Mar 2	487
Week of Mar 9	469
Week of Mar 16	456
Week of Mar 23	436
Week of Mar 30	416
Week of Apr 6	394
Week of Apr 13	380
Week of Apr 20	388
Week of Apr 27	387
Week of May 4	385
Week of May 11	381
Week of May 18	384
Week of May 25	387
Week of Jun 1	392
Week of Jun 8	397
Week of Jun 15	388
Week of Jun 22	386
Week of Jun 29	386
Week of Jul 6	379
Week of Jul 13	391
Week of Jul 20	394
Week of Jul 27	400
Week of Aug 3	396
Week of Aug 10	403
Week of Aug 17	405
Week of Aug 24	413
Week of Aug 31	406
Week of Sep 7	399
Week of Sep 14	406
Week of Sep 21	434
Week of Sep 28	454
Week of Oct 5	361

Health

See the numbers

	Health
Week of Oct 13	54
Week of Oct 20	51
Week of Oct 27	50
Week of Nov 3	49
Week of Nov 10	48
Week of Nov 17	49
Week of Nov 24	48
Week of Dec 1	50
Week of Dec 8	54
Week of Dec 15	52
Week of Dec 22	56
Week of Dec 29	57
Week of Jan 5	57
Week of Jan 12	58
Week of Jan 19	57
Week of Jan 26	55
Week of Feb 2	53
Week of Feb 9	50
Week of Feb 16	47
Week of Feb 23	47
Week of Mar 2	51
Week of Mar 9	51
Week of Mar 16	49
Week of Mar 23	51
Week of Mar 30	50
Week of Apr 6	50
Week of Apr 13	50
Week of Apr 20	50
Week of Apr 27	50
Week of May 4	47
Week of May 11	49
Week of May 18	49
Week of May 25	50
Week of Jun 1	44
Week of Jun 8	46
Week of Jun 15	48
Week of Jun 22	48
Week of Jun 29	48
Week of Jul 6	53
Week of Jul 13	54
Week of Jul 20	53
Week of Jul 27	53
Week of Aug 3	54
Week of Aug 10	54
Week of Aug 17	53
Week of Aug 24	52
Week of Aug 31	50
Week of Sep 7	48
Week of Sep 14	48
Week of Sep 21	49
Week of Sep 28	49
Week of Oct 5	39

Money

See the numbers

	Money
Week of Oct 13	118
Week of Oct 20	119
Week of Oct 27	119
Week of Nov 3	120
Week of Nov 10	117
Week of Nov 17	117
Week of Nov 24	122
Week of Dec 1	122
Week of Dec 8	123
Week of Dec 15	122
Week of Dec 22	131
Week of Dec 29	136
Week of Jan 5	142
Week of Jan 12	146
Week of Jan 19	164
Week of Jan 26	184
Week of Feb 2	195
Week of Feb 9	213
Week of Feb 16	217
Week of Feb 23	217
Week of Mar 2	215
Week of Mar 9	214
Week of Mar 16	220
Week of Mar 23	229
Week of Mar 30	244
Week of Apr 6	247
Week of Apr 13	250
Week of Apr 20	224
Week of Apr 27	190
Week of May 4	160
Week of May 11	127
Week of May 18	122
Week of May 25	118
Week of Jun 1	124
Week of Jun 8	124
Week of Jun 15	123
Week of Jun 22	122
Week of Jun 29	122
Week of Jul 6	123
Week of Jul 13	117
Week of Jul 20	121
Week of Jul 27	122
Week of Aug 3	121
Week of Aug 10	118
Week of Aug 17	118
Week of Aug 24	119
Week of Aug 31	121
Week of Sep 7	119
Week of Sep 14	123
Week of Sep 21	121
Week of Sep 28	120
Week of Oct 5	101

Education

See the numbers

	Education
Week of Oct 13	Under 10
Week of Oct 20	Under 10
Week of Oct 27	Under 10
Week of Nov 3	Under 10
Week of Nov 10	Under 10
Week of Nov 17	Under 10
Week of Nov 24	Under 10
Week of Dec 1	Under 10
Week of Dec 8	Under 10
Week of Dec 15	Under 10
Week of Dec 22	Under 10
Week of Dec 29	Under 10
Week of Jan 5	Under 10
Week of Jan 12	Under 10
Week of Jan 19	Under 10
Week of Jan 26	Under 10
Week of Feb 2	Under 10
Week of Feb 9	Under 10
Week of Feb 16	Under 10
Week of Feb 23	Under 10
Week of Mar 2	Under 10
Week of Mar 9	Under 10
Week of Mar 16	Under 10
Week of Mar 23	Under 10
Week of Mar 30	Under 10
Week of Apr 6	Under 10
Week of Apr 13	Under 10
Week of Apr 20	Under 10
Week of Apr 27	Under 10
Week of May 4	Under 10
Week of May 11	Under 10
Week of May 18	Under 10
Week of May 25	Under 10
Week of Jun 1	Under 10
Week of Jun 8	Under 10
Week of Jun 15	Under 10
Week of Jun 22	Under 10
Week of Jun 29	11
Week of Jul 6	16
Week of Jul 13	18
Week of Jul 20	17
Week of Jul 27	17
Week of Aug 3	18
Week of Aug 10	17
Week of Aug 17	16
Week of Aug 24	12
Week of Aug 31	Under 10
Week of Sep 7	Under 10
Week of Sep 14	Under 10
Week of Sep 21	Under 10
Week of Sep 28	Under 10
Week of Oct 5	Under 10

Work

See the numbers

	Work
Week of Oct 13	24
Week of Oct 20	23
Week of Oct 27	23
Week of Nov 3	26
Week of Nov 10	27
Week of Nov 17	27
Week of Nov 24	28
Week of Dec 1	32
Week of Dec 8	34
Week of Dec 15	36
Week of Dec 22	36
Week of Dec 29	37
Week of Jan 5	38
Week of Jan 12	40
Week of Jan 19	36
Week of Jan 26	32
Week of Feb 2	30
Week of Feb 9	28
Week of Feb 16	26
Week of Feb 23	25
Week of Mar 2	25
Week of Mar 9	24
Week of Mar 16	25
Week of Mar 23	24
Week of Mar 30	25
Week of Apr 6	24
Week of Apr 13	25
Week of Apr 20	24
Week of Apr 27	24
Week of May 4	23
Week of May 11	23
Week of May 18	24
Week of May 25	25
Week of Jun 1	24
Week of Jun 8	24
Week of Jun 15	25
Week of Jun 22	26
Week of Jun 29	27
Week of Jul 6	28
Week of Jul 13	27
Week of Jul 20	25
Week of Jul 27	25
Week of Aug 3	24
Week of Aug 10	23
Week of Aug 17	23
Week of Aug 24	23
Week of Aug 31	22
Week of Sep 7	23
Week of Sep 14	22
Week of Sep 21	23
Week of Sep 28	23
Week of Oct 5	20

Legal help

See the numbers

	Legal help
Week of Oct 13	91
Week of Oct 20	97
Week of Oct 27	101
Week of Nov 3	105
Week of Nov 10	109
Week of Nov 17	111
Week of Nov 24	115
Week of Dec 1	110
Week of Dec 8	118
Week of Dec 15	118
Week of Dec 22	118
Week of Dec 29	117
Week of Jan 5	113
Week of Jan 12	111
Week of Jan 19	104
Week of Jan 26	105
Week of Feb 2	106
Week of Feb 9	105
Week of Feb 16	107
Week of Feb 23	106
Week of Mar 2	114
Week of Mar 9	116
Week of Mar 16	111
Week of Mar 23	108
Week of Mar 30	105
Week of Apr 6	101
Week of Apr 13	99
Week of Apr 20	99
Week of Apr 27	99
Week of May 4	101
Week of May 11	106
Week of May 18	104
Week of May 25	102
Week of Jun 1	99
Week of Jun 8	99
Week of Jun 15	97
Week of Jun 22	102
Week of Jun 29	102
Week of Jul 6	101
Week of Jul 13	100
Week of Jul 20	101
Week of Jul 27	101
Week of Aug 3	103
Week of Aug 10	101
Week of Aug 17	100
Week of Aug 24	97
Week of Aug 31	94
Week of Sep 7	93
Week of Sep 14	88
Week of Sep 21	88
Week of Sep 28	90
Week of Oct 5	71

Safety

See the numbers

	Safety
Week of Oct 13	12
Week of Oct 20	13
Week of Oct 27	13
Week of Nov 3	13
Week of Nov 10	13
Week of Nov 17	13
Week of Nov 24	14
Week of Dec 1	15
Week of Dec 8	14
Week of Dec 15	14
Week of Dec 22	13
Week of Dec 29	13
Week of Jan 5	11
Week of Jan 12	Under 10
Week of Jan 19	11
Week of Jan 26	10
Week of Feb 2	10
Week of Feb 9	10
Week of Feb 16	11
Week of Feb 23	11
Week of Mar 2	12
Week of Mar 9	13
Week of Mar 16	12
Week of Mar 23	10
Week of Mar 30	11
Week of Apr 6	Under 10
Week of Apr 13	Under 10
Week of Apr 20	10
Week of Apr 27	13
Week of May 4	14
Week of May 11	15
Week of May 18	15
Week of May 25	13
Week of Jun 1	13
Week of Jun 8	11
Week of Jun 15	10
Week of Jun 22	Under 10
Week of Jun 29	Under 10
Week of Jul 6	Under 10
Week of Jul 13	Under 10
Week of Jul 20	Under 10
Week of Jul 27	Under 10
Week of Aug 3	Under 10
Week of Aug 10	Under 10
Week of Aug 17	Under 10
Week of Aug 24	Under 10
Week of Aug 31	11
Week of Sep 7	12
Week of Sep 14	11
Week of Sep 21	11
Week of Sep 28	12
Week of Oct 5	Under 10

How we count

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 is 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.
We keep the count, and nothing else: not the words, not a name, not an account, not a browser or network address.
Unmet need means 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.
Any count under 10 shows as fewer than 10. When only one count in a list would be hidden, we hide a second one too.
The demo site is not counted, and questions about Front Door itself, crisis questions and letters are not counted.
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

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

Choose what to show

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 Washington.

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

How the demo is made

Search trends

Where each pattern comes from

Sources