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These California cities ranked among the ‘neediest’ in the nation: study

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Updated  December 27, 2023 8:18am PST
California
FOX 11

US homelessness hits record high

About 653,000 people were homeless, the most since the country began using the yearly point-in-time survey in 2007. The total in the January count represents an increase of about 70,650 from a year earlier.

LOS ANGELES - It’s no secret that living in California is expensive and beyond what’s often shown on reality television and Hollywood films – there is a completely different side of the Golden State.

On the other side of glitz, glamour and fame, many other residents are faced with hunger and poverty, and in the most severe cases, tens of thousands of residents are unsheltered. Data from the 2023 Homeless Count revealed a 10% increase in homelessness in the City of Los Angeles and a 9% rise in Los Angeles County. 

However, Los Angeles doesn’t rank among the top 10 most economically disadvantaged cities in the nation, or even California. 

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A study by WalletHub compared U.S. cities with a variety of factors indicating economic disadvantage, including food insecurity and child poverty.

Fresno ranked as the third-neediest city in America and the neediest in California, behind Detroit and Brownsville, Texas. The study said Fresno has the highest rate of homelessness in America. In addition, despite the number of agricultural workers, many residents are food insecure.  

Downtown Fresno (Craig Kohlruss/Fresno Bee/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

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(Getty Images)

See a list of the top 10 most economically disadvantaged cities in the U.S. according to the study below:

  1. Detroit
  2. Brownsville, Texas
  3. Fresno, Calif.
  4. Gulfport, Miss.
  5. Cleveland, Ohio
  6. Laredo, Texas
  7. Jackson, Miss.
  8. Corpus Christi, Texas
  9. Little Rock, Ark.
  10. Augusta, Ga.
Source: WalletHub

Los Angeles wasn’t too far behind and found itself ranked 15th on the list. Other notable California cities that ranked in the top 100 neediest cities in America were San Bernardino (36), Stockton (51), San Francisco (54), Oakland (57), Long Beach (60), Bakersfield (67), Modesto (92) and Anaheim (94).