WASHINGTON – HUD released the 2025 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report: Part 1: Point-in-Time (PIT) Estimates, which found that 745,652 people were homeless, including 266,320 people living on the street on a single night in January 2025 – a 27% increase since 2013 and a 3% decrease since 2024, attributable to decreases in Sanctuary Cities.
“The data is clear that the status quo of ‘housing first’ has failed to meaningfully reduce homelessness, resulting in crisis levels of people living on the streets,” said Secretary Scott Turner. “HUD is restoring its programs to advance recovery and self-sufficiency and to ensure that taxpayer-funded benefits serve American families.”
Key findings:
- 745,652 individuals were homeless on a single night in January 2025
- 266,320 individuals were living unsheltered on a single night in January 2025
- 1,456,923 individuals were either homeless or living in taxpayer subsidized/funded housing for the homeless
- Between 2013 and 2025:
- Homelessness increased 27%
- Unsheltered homelessness increased 36%
- Chronic homelessness increased 81%
- Taxpayer funded beds increased 151%
- Continuum of Care (CoC) spending increased 111%
HUD used 2013 as a baseline for long-term trend comparisons because that period marked the beginning of “Housing First” policy changes within HUD homelessness programs.
Point-in-Time counts do not include people living in taxpayer-funded housing assistance for the homeless.
Read the full report here.
Editors Notes from the report
Estimates of Homelessness
155,792 individuals
26,142 people in families with children
8,086 unaccompanied homeless youth
8,686 veterans
64,693 chronically homeless individuals
- Across the nation, California made up the highest share of all homeless individuals, with 30 percent of all homeless individuals in the United States located in California.
- The point-in-time counts are conducted during the coldest time of year in the Unites States. Most of the states with the highest rates of unsheltered homeless individuals during the PIT count are in warmer climates (e.g., California, Georgia, and Florida). However, other factors, such as policies related to local housing markets, access to shelter, and shelter capacity also affect the share of unsheltered homelessness.
- In 2025, Hawaii, California, Arkansas, Arizona, and Georgia all reported 65 percent or more of all homeless individuals in their state were unsheltered.
- States with the highest number of people in homeless families with children in 2025 were New York (84,923 people) and California (26,142 people). However, the states that had the highest share of homeless families with children among all homeless persons were Massachusetts (73%), New York (58%), and Minnesota (45%).
- West Virginia, Oregon, California, and Nevada had the smallest share of homeless families with children among all homeless persons in their states, all with rates at or below 15 percent.
- Nationwide, California, which has the most homeless veterans of any state, accounted for the largest share of the nation’s population of homeless veterans with 27 percent of all homeless veterans in the nation located in California. However, within the state, five percent of all homeless persons in California were veterans.
- Between 2024 and 2025, 14 states reported reductions in the number of individuals with chronic patterns of homelessness that were homeless on the night of the count. Among these, California reported the largest decrease with 1,855 fewer individuals with chronic patterns of homelessness (a 3% decline). Arkansas reported a 49 percent decline, the largest in the country.
- California is composed of 44 CoCs. Nine of the CoCs are major cities, seven are urban, 16 are suburban, and 12 are rural. Between 2024 and 2025, California reported 1,855 fewer individuals with chronic patterns of homelessness that were homeless on the night of the count (a three percent decline). Seventeen CoCs reported reductions in the number of individuals with chronic patterns of homelessness that were homeless on the night of the count. The largest decline was in Los Angeles, which reported 2,394 fewer chronically homeless individuals. These CoCs attributed the decline to additional projects opening, use of coordinated entry to move unsheltered individuals into affordable housing units, quicker placements into housing, increased outreach to transition chronically homeless individuals into permanent housing, and targeted encampment resolution initiatives.
