Most Americans have never faced housing instability
Core finding
Most Americans (59%) say they have never experienced any form of housing instability, according to a Verasight survey conducted March 6-16, 2026. That leaves roughly four-in-ten (41%) who have faced at least one.
The most widely reported, at 32%, is temporarily staying with relatives, friends, or couch-surfing, followed by hotel or motel stays (15%), makeshift or uninhabitable spaces (10%), RVs or campers (8%), and outdoor locations or short-term transitional housing (7% each).
Selected responses
Most Americans have never faced housing instability.
Experiences with housing instability
n = 1,000 · Mar 6–16, 2026 · MoE ±3.6%
Methodology
Full methodology →| Mode | Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting |
|---|---|
| Population | US adults age 18+ |
| Field dates | Mar 6–16, 2026 |
| Base (unweighted) | 1,000 |
| Margin of error | ±3.6% |
| Module | Module 4: Identity, Politics, & Social Trust |
| Sponsor | Verasight |
| Weight variable | weight |
| Weighting targets | age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status |
Sources
- reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044
Experiences with housing instability
Cite this question
Verasight Client Omnibus Survey #2026-044, fielded March 6-16, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.6%.