Jeff Bezos wants to spend $2 billion on education and the homeless. These four cities could use it the most.

Las Vegas ranks considerably low according to both its quality of education and number of degree-earning citizens. While some officials expect these circumstances to improve in light of the state's recent investments in education, residents still complain of overcrowded classrooms and a lack of funding from the Las Vegas school district.

These poor conditions have spilled over into the workforce as well. While Nevada's overall unemployment rate is down, the size of its unemployed youth population is more than double the national average. Across the state, young residents cite a lack of education as the number one barrier to obtaining a meaningful job.

All signs point to Las Vegas as the epicenter of this crisis. Of the state's 93 underperforming schools — those with low test scores and/or graduation rates — nearly half are located in the Las Vegas metropolitan area.

Los Angeles's homeless population may be smaller than that of New York City, but its share of unsheltered residents is significantly higher. In LA, around 75% of homeless people either live on the streets or in makeshift dwellings like cars and tents, compared to just 5% of homeless residents in New York.

According to a 2018 report by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the city now contains more than 53,000 homeless residents. In the last year alone, the report found, around 9,000 Angelenos experienced homelessness for the first time in their lives.

LA's Skid Row represents the harrowing core of the crisis, a place where drugs, crime, and disease run rampant. Homelessness in the area dates back to the 19th century, and has shown no sign of slowing down. At night, around 1,800 people congregate in Skid Row's homeless encampment, which represents one of the largest concentrations of homeless people in the US.

San Francisco has set aside millions to curb homelessness, but its efforts don't seem to be making much headway. The city is still one of the top-ranking places for homelessness in the US, with more than eight out of every 1,000 residents living unsheltered or without a home.

Despite massive cleanup efforts, residents of the Tenderloin district have complained of open air drug markets, discarded heroin needles, and piles of poop on the sidewalk.

Bezos's strategy of donating to local organizations that feed and shelter the homeless could help reduce some of the more visible signs of homelessness. But in the long run, San Francisco is in dire need of funds that tackle the issue's root causes, including mental health problems and a lack of affordable housing.

For now, Bezos seems focused on transient homelessness, which he finds easier to tackle. "You only have to help [the temporarily homeless] for six to nine months," he said in an April interview. "You get them trained. You get them a job. They are perfectly productive members of society."