As it became clear how terrible the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic would be on Americans and their day-to-day lives, the Census Bureau created The Household Pulse Survey to measure the extent of the damage to U.S. residents. The questionnaire first went into the field on April 23 and has continued to be one tool for the government’s measure of COVID-19 since then.

The Household Pulse Survey is taken in “phases”, each of which is in the field for about four months. The Census information also takes into account information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Department of Defense (DOD)m Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS/ASPE, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), USDA Economic Research Service (ERS), The White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), and The White House Domestic Policy Council (DPC).

The survey asks questions about housing, food security, working from home, employment, health, and spending.

One of the questions in the survey involves people who rent their residences. To determine the state with the most renters at risk of eviction, 24/7 Wall St. ranked states based on the percentage of renters who responded “very likely” to the question “How likely is it that your household will have to leave this home or apartment within the next two months because of eviction?”.

Based on the latest data from Jan. 26, 2022, to Feb. 7, 2022, 10.1 million renters nationwide are not current on their rental payments, or nearly 16% or the nation’s 64.2 million renters. Of those who are late on their rent, 1.4 million said they are “very likely” to move within two months due to eviction– that is 2.2% of all renters or nearly 14% of renters who are behind on their rent.

States with the largest populations also have the largest number of renters, but they do not necessarily have the greatest share of renters facing evictions. For example, New York ranks third among states in the number of renters (about 4.7 million) but ranks 21st in the share of renters who are “very likely” to be evicted within two months. In contrast, Alabama has far fewer renters than New York (about 761,000), 26th most among states, but it ranks third in the number of renters who are “very likely” facing imminent eviction.

The state where the most people are likely to get evicted is Maine. Here are the details:

> Renters very likely to be evicted in two months: 34.0%
> Renters three or more months behind on rent: 16.3% (9th least)
> Renters receiving state or local gov’t rental assistance: 11.5% (12th most)
> January 2022 unemployment rate: 4.1% (23rd highest)

Methodology: To determine the state with the most renters at risk of eviction, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on housing insecurity from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey for the period Jan. 26, 2022, to Feb. 7, 2022. States are ranked based on the percentage of renters who responded “very likely” to the question “How likely is it that your household will have to leave this home or apartment within the next two months because of eviction?” Supplemental data on the percentage of renters who are three or more months behind on rental payments and the percentage of renters who received emergency rental assistance through the state or local government also came from the Household Pulse Survey and is self-reported. Seasonally adjusted data on the January 2022 unemployment rate came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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