In 2023, there were about 653,104 homeless people estimated to be living in the United States, the highest number of homeless people recorded within the provided time period. In comparison, the second-highest number of homeless people living in the U.S. within this time period was in 2007, at 647,258. How is homelessness calculated? Calculating homelessness is complicated for several different reasons. For one, it is challenging to determine how many people are homeless as there is no direct definition for homelessness. Additionally, it is difficult to try and find every single homeless person that exists. Sometimes they cannot be reached, leaving people unaccounted for. In the United States, the Department of Housing and Urban Development calculates the homeless population by counting the number of people on the streets and the number of people in homeless shelters on one night each year. According to this count, Los Angeles City and New York City are the cities with the most homeless people in the United States. Homelessness in the United States Between 2022 and 2023, New Hampshire saw the highest increase in the number of homeless people. However, California was the state with the highest number of homeless people, followed by New York and Florida. The vast amount of homelessness in California is a result of multiple factors, one of them being the extreme high cost of living, as well as opposition to mandatory mental health counseling and drug addiction. However, the District of Columbia had the highest estimated rate of homelessness per 10,000 people in 2023. This was followed by New York, Vermont, and Oregon.

When analyzing the ratio of homelessness to state population, New York, Vermont, and Oregon had the highest rates in 2023. However, Washington, D.C. had an estimated 73 homeless individuals per 10,000 people, which was significantly higher than any of the 50 states. Homeless people by race The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development performs homeless counts at the end of January each year, which includes people in both sheltered and unsheltered locations. The estimated number of homeless people increased to 653,104 in 2023 – the highest level since 2007. However, the true figure is likely to be much higher, as some individuals prefer to stay with family or friends - making it challenging to count the actual number of homeless people living in the country. In 2023, nearly half of the people experiencing homelessness were white, while the number of Black homeless people exceeded 243,000. How many veterans are homeless in America? The  number of homeless veterans in the United States has halved since 2010. The state of California, which is currently suffering a homeless crisis, accounted for the highest number of homeless veterans in 2022. There are many causes of homelessness among veterans of the U.S. military, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse problems, and a lack of affordable housing.

In 2023, about 68.4 percent of the estimated number of homeless individuals in the United States were male, compared to 30 percent who were female.

In 2023, there were an estimated 324,854 white homeless people in the United States, the most out of any ethnicity. In comparison, there were around 243,624 Black or African American homeless people in the U.S. How homelessness is counted The actual number of homeless individuals in the U.S. is difficult to measure. The Department of Housing and Urban Development uses point-in-time estimates, where employees and volunteers count both sheltered and unsheltered homeless people during the last 10 days of January. However, it is very likely that the actual number of homeless individuals is much higher than the estimates, which makes it difficult to say just how many homeless there are in the United States. Unsheltered homeless in the United States California is well-known in the U.S. for having a high homeless population, and Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego all have high proportions of unsheltered homeless people. While in many states, the Department of Housing and Urban Development says that there are more sheltered homeless people than unsheltered, this estimate is most likely in relation to the method of estimation.

Table of homeless population by Year (for years 2009 through 2012)

"Ratio of Homeless Population to General Population in major US Cities in 2011. *This represents a list of large U.S. cities for which DHS was able to confirm a recent estimate of the unsheltered population. A 2011 result is available for Seattle, WA, Miami, FL, and Boston, MA.. 2011 results are not yet available for the other cities, and their 2009 data are displayed in this chart. General population figures are 2010 estimates in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago, and 2009 estimates elsewhere."

In the United States in 2023, 89.2 percent of the homeless population living in El Dorado County, California were unsheltered.

Between 2022 and 2023, New Hampshire had the highest positive percentage change in the estimated number of homeless people in the United States, with the number of homeless people living in New Hampshire increasing by 52.1 percent within this time period.

This report displays the data communities reported to HUD about the nature of and amount of persons who are homeless as part of HUD's Point-in-Time (PIT) Count. This data is self-reported by communities to HUD as part of its competitive Continuum of Care application process. The website allows users to select PIT data from 2005 to present. Users can use filter by CoC, states, or the entire nation.

This dataset displays demographics for the families and individuals residing in the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelter system.

According to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's definition, homelessness includes individuals and families who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. A homeless count provides a "snapshot in time" to quantify the size of the homeless population at a specific point during the year. Regardless of how successful outreach efforts are, an undercount of people experiencing homelessness is possible. Counts includes persons experiencing unsheltered and sheltered homelessness. Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count occurred in the nights of February 22, 23 and 24, 2022. Glendale's count occurred in the morning and evening of February 25, 2022. Long Beach's count occurred in the early morning of February 24, 2022. Pasadena's count occurred in the evening of February 22, 2022 and morning of February 23, 2022. Data not available for Los Angeles City neighborhoods and unincorporated Los Angeles County; LAHSA does not recommend aggregating census tract-level data to calculate numbers for other geographic levels.Housing affordability is a major concern for many Los Angeles County residents. Housing burden can increase the risk for homelessness. Individuals experiencing homelessness experience disproportionately higher rates of certain health conditions, such as tuberculosis, HIV infection, alcohol and drug abuse, and mental illness. Barriers to accessing care and limited access to resources contribute greatly to these observed disparities.For more information about the Community Health Profiles Data Initiative, please see the initiative homepage.

In 2023, the estimated number of homeless people in the United States was highest in California, with about 181,399 homeless people living in California in that year.

This report outlines the key findings of the annual Point-In-Time (PIT) count and Housing Inventory Count (HIC) conducted in January of each year. Specifically, this report provides estimates of homelessness self-reported, as well as estimates of chronically homeless persons, homeless veterans, and homeless children and youth.

Current link at the time of dataset creation: https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/4832/2015-ahar-part-1-pit-estimates-of-homelessness/

This data tracks the number of beds available for runaway and homeless youth and young adults as well as the number and percent vacant. Data include Crisis Shelters, Crisis Shelters HYA (Homeless Young Adults), Transitional Independent Living, and Transitional Independent Living HYA. For more information about programs, visit https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dycd/services/services.page and https://discoverdycd.dycdconnect.nyc/home. For the RHY Data Collection, please follow this link.

This report outlines the key findings of the 2014 Point-In-Time (PIT) and Housing Inventory (HIC) counts conducted in January 2014. Specifically, this report provides 2014 national, state, and CoC-level PIT and HIC estimates of homelessness, as well as estimates of chronically homeless persons, homeless veterans, and homeless children and youth.

These are the measures adopted by the Heading Home Ramsey Governing Board for tracking top level changes in homeless population and outcomes in the homeless services system. This data is used in the Heading Home Ramsey Community Dashboard Measures https://data.ramseycounty.us/stories/s/wwpp-7i2j. Except for the total county population and housing bed counts, all of the data are derived from the homeless management information system, known as HMIS. Not all homeless persons are served by agencies that use HMIS and therefore these measures do not necessarily cover all homeless persons.

Many of the measures separate housing project types (shelter, rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing) because of the different lengths of service and types of interventions. For definitions of standard project types for homeless services and other terms, see these descriptions at https://www.unitedtoendhomelessness.org/blog/types-of-housing-support-for-the-homeless .

For more information about other homeless data and special reports visit Heading Home Ramsey's visit https://www.headinghomeramsey.org/stats-data.

Analysis of ‘Directory Of Unsheltered Street Homeless To General Population Ratio 2012’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/3938b01a-ab66-4fd1-967a-478702f97b87 on 27 January 2022.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

"Ratio of Homeless Population to General Population in major US Cities in 2012. *This represents a list of large U.S. cities for which DHS was able to confirm a recent estimate of the unsheltered population. Unsheltered estimates are from 2011 except for Seattle and New York City (2012) and Chicago (2009). All General Population figures are from the 2010 U.S. Census enumeration."

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

In 2023, there were an estimated 32,156 homeless people with chronic substance abuse problems living in emergency shelters in the United States. A further 65,828 homeless people with chronic substance abuse problems were unsheltered in that year.

The purpose of the San Mateo County Homeless Census and Survey is to gather and analyze information to help us understand who is homeless in our community, why they are homeless and what interventions they need to end their homelessness. This data forms the basis for effective planning to solve this complex and longstanding problem. The San Mateo County Human Services Agency’s Center on Homelessness the San Mateo County Continuum of Care Steering Committee were responsible for overseeing this data collection effort, with assistance from a broad group of community partners, including non-profit social service providers, city and town governments, and homeless and formerly homeless individuals. The Census and Survey was designed to meet two related sets of data needs. The first is the requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that communities applying for McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance funds (also known as Continuum of Care or “CoC” funds) must conduct a point-in-time count of homeless people a minimum of every two years. These counts are required to take place in the last ten days of January.