Can you give us a source for your homeless density claim? I don't believe it. As compared with Portland, Seattle, San Francisco? Population density is different in different cities. I would expect homelessness density to vary with population density, other things being equal, such as number unemployed or underemployed, prevailing wages, supply of apartments, etc.. 

I guess you could compare Eugene with a city of similar size. I'm constantly reading on Google News about other cities in which homelessness is a big problem -- especially for the homeless -- and a political issue, because it's the public face of poverty that a lot of people don't want to see.

Also the one night homeless counts, that local governments do all over the US, are notoriously inaccurate, because camping bans make it necessary to hide from the cops. Our best estimate is 2,000-3,000 at any one time.

In my experience, Eugene has always been a hard place to make a living.