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

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 ** 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 ******* 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 *******. 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, there were about ******* 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 *******. 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.

The graph displays the top 15 states by an estimated number of homeless people in the United States for the year 2025. The x-axis represents U.S. states, while the y-axis shows the number of homeless individuals in each state. California has the highest homeless population with 187,084 individuals, followed by New York with 158,019, while Hawaii places last in this dataset with 11,637. This bar graph highlights significant differences across states, with some states like California and New York showing notably higher counts compared to others, indicating regional disparities in homelessness levels across the country.

Context

This database contains the data reported in the Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress (AHAR). It represents a point-In-time count (PIT) of homeless individuals, as well as a housing inventory count (HIC) conducted annually.

The data represent the most comprehensive national-level assessment of homelessness in America, including PIT and HIC estimates of homelessness, as well as estimates of chronically homeless persons, homeless veterans, and homeless children and youth.

These data can be trended over time and correlated with other metrics of housing availability and affordability, in order to better understand the particular type of housing resources that may be needed from a social determinants of health perspective.

HUD captures these data annually through the Continuum of Care (CoC) program. CoC-level reporting data have been crosswalked to county levels for purposes of analysis of this dataset.

Querying BigQuery tables

You can use the BigQuery Python client library to query tables in this dataset in Kernels. Note that methods available in Kernels are limited to querying data. Tables are at bigquery-public-data.sdoh_hud_pit_homelessness

Sample Query

What has been the change in the number of homeless veterans in the state of New York’s CoC Regions since 2012? Determine how the patterns of homeless veterans have changes across the state of New York

homeless_2018 AS ( SELECT Homeless_Veterans AS Vet18, CoC_Name
FROM bigquery-public-data.sdoh_hud_pit_homelessness.hud_pit_by_coc WHERE SUBSTR(CoC_Number,0,2) = "NY" AND Count_Year = 2018 ),

veterans_change AS ( SELECT homeless_2012.COC_Name, Vet12, Vet18, Vet18 - Vet12 AS VetChange FROM homeless_2018 JOIN homeless_2012 ON homeless_2018.CoC_Name = homeless_2012.CoC_Name )

SELECT * FROM veterans_change

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.

"Ratio of Homeless Population to General Population in major US Cities in 2009. *This represents a list of large U.S. cities with a similar street count methodology for which DHS was able to confirm a recent Census; 2009 results are not yet available for LA, SF, and Chicago. All population figures are from the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimate."

This dataset contains estimates of homelessness, as well as estimates of chronically homeless persons, homeless veterans, and homeless children and youth provided by The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The estimates cover the period of years 2007-2017 and are at national, state and Continuums of Care (CoC) Point-In-Time (PIT) level.

Comprehensive dataset of 2,761 Homeless shelters in United States as of June, 2025. Includes verified contact information (email, phone), geocoded addresses, customer ratings, reviews, business categories, and operational details. Perfect for market research, lead generation, competitive analysis, and business intelligence. Download a complimentary sample to evaluate data quality and completeness.

A. SUMMARY This archived dataset includes data for population characteristics that are no longer being reported publicly. The date on which each population characteristic type was archived can be found in the field “data_loaded_at”.

B. HOW THE DATASET IS CREATED Data on the population characteristics of COVID-19 cases are from:  * Case interviews  * Laboratories  * Medical providers    These multiple streams of data are merged, deduplicated, and undergo data verification processes.  

Race/ethnicity * We include all race/ethnicity categories that are collected for COVID-19 cases. * The population estimates for the "Other" or “Multi-racial” groups should be considered with caution. The Census definition is likely not exactly aligned with how the City collects this data. For that reason, we do not recommend calculating population rates for these groups.

Gender * The City collects information on gender identity using these guidelines.

Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) occupancy * A Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) is a type of long-term care facility that provides care to individuals, generally in their 60s and older, who need functional assistance in their daily lives.  * This dataset includes data for COVID-19 cases reported in Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) through 12/31/2022, archived on 1/5/2023. These data were identified where “Characteristic_Type” = ‘Skilled Nursing Facility Occupancy’.

Sexual orientation * The City began asking adults 18 years old or older for their sexual orientation identification during case interviews as of April 28, 2020. Sexual orientation data prior to this date is unavailable. * The City doesn’t collect or report information about sexual orientation for persons under 12 years of age. * Case investigation interviews transitioned to the California Department of Public Health, Virtual Assistant information gathering beginning December 2021. The Virtual Assistant is only sent to adults who are 18+ years old. https://www.sfdph.org/dph/files/PoliciesProcedures/COM9_SexualOrientationGuidelines.pdf">Learn more about our data collection guidelines pertaining to sexual orientation.

Comorbidities * Underlying conditions are reported when a person has one or more underlying health conditions at the time of diagnosis or death.

Homelessness Persons are identified as homeless based on several data sources: * self-reported living situation * the location at the time of testing * Department of Public Health homelessness and health databases * Residents in Single-Room Occupancy hotels are not included in these figures. These methods serve as an estimate of persons experiencing homelessness. They may not meet other homelessness definitions.

Single Room Occupancy (SRO) tenancy * SRO buildings are defined by the San Francisco Housing Code as having six or more "residential guest rooms" which may be attached to shared bathrooms, kitchens, and living spaces. * The details of a person's living arrangements are verified during case interviews.

Transmission Type * Information on transmission of COVID-19 is based on case interviews with individuals who have a confirmed positive test. Individuals are asked if they have been in close contact with a known COVID-19 case. If they answer yes, transmission category is recorded as contact with a known case. If they report no contact with a known case, transmission category is recorded as community transmission. If the case is not interviewed or was not asked the question, they are counted as unknown.

C. UPDATE PROCESS This dataset has been archived and will no longer update as of 9/11/2023.

D. HOW TO USE THIS DATASET Population estimates are only available for age groups and race/ethnicity categories. San Francisco population estimates for race/ethnicity and age groups can be found in a view based on the San Francisco Population and Demographic Census dataset. These population estimates are from the 2016-2020 5-year American Community Survey (ACS).

This dataset includes many different types of characteristics. Filter the “Characteristic Type” column to explore a topic area. Then, the “Characteristic Group” column shows each group or category within that topic area and the number of cases on each date.

New cases are the count of cases within that characteristic group where the positive tests were collected on that specific specimen collection date. Cumulative cases are the running total of all San Francisco cases in that characteristic group up to the specimen collection date listed.

This data may not be immediately available for recently reported cases. Data updates as more information becomes available.

To explore data on the total number of cases, use the ARCHIVED: COVID-19 Cases Over Time dataset.

E. CHANGE LOG

• 9/11/2023 - data on COVID-19 cases by population characteristics over time are no longer being updated. The date on which each population characteristic type was archived can be found in the field “data_loaded_at”.
• 6/6/2023 - data on cases by transmission type have been removed. See section ARCHIVED DATA for more detail.
• 5/16/2023 - data on cases by sexual orientation, comorbidities, homelessness, and single room occupancy have been removed. See section ARCHIVED DATA for more detail.
• 4/6/2023 - the State implemented system updates to improve the integrity of historical data.
• 2/21/2023 - system updates to improve reliability and accuracy of cases data were implemented.
• 1/31/2023 - updated “population_estimate” column to reflect the 2020 Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) San Francisco Population estimates.
• 1/5/2023 - data on SNF cases removed. See section ARCHIVED DATA for more detail.
• 3/23/2022 - ‘Native American’ changed to ‘American Indian or Alaska Native’ to align with the census.
• 1/22/2022 - system updates to improve timeliness and accuracy of cases and deaths data were implemented.
• 7/15/2022 - reinfections added to cases dataset. See section SUMMARY for more information on how reinfections are identified.

This dataset includes Point-in-Time (PIT) data collected in Cambridge between 2012 and 2024. The PIT count is a count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons on a single night in January. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that communities receiving funding through the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program conduct an annual count of homeless persons on a single night in the last 10 days of January, and these data contribute to national estimates of homelessness reported in the Annual Homeless Assessment Report to the U.S. Congress. This dataset is comprised of data submitted to, and stored in, HUD’s Homelessness Data Exchange (HDX).

This dataset includes basic counts and demographic information of persons experiencing homelessness on each PIT date from 2012-2024. The dataset contains four rows for each year, including one row for each housing type: Emergency Shelter, Transitional Housing, or Unsheltered. The dataset also includes housing inventory counts of the number of shelter and transitional housing units available on each of the PIT count dates.

Information about persons staying in emergency shelters and transitional housing units is exported from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), which is the primary database for recording client-level service records. Information about persons in unsheltered situations is compiled by first conducting an overnight street count of persons observed sleeping outdoors on the PIT night to establish the total number of unsheltered persons. Demographic information for unsheltered persons is then extrapolated by utilizing assessment data collected by street outreach workers during the 7 days following the PIT count.

This database contains the data reported in the Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress (AHAR). It represents a point-In-time count (PIT) of homeless individuals, as well as a housing inventory count (HIC) conducted annually. The data represent the most comprehensive national-level assessment of homelessness in America, including PIT and HIC estimates of homelessness, as well as estimates of chronically homeless persons, homeless veterans, and homeless children and youth. These data can be trended over time and correlated with other metrics of housing availability and affordability, in order to better understand the particular type of housing resources that may be needed from a social determinants of health perspective. HUD captures these data annually through the Continuum of Care (CoC) program. CoC-level reporting data have been crosswalked to county levels for purposes of analysis of this dataset. For more information about these data, please see here .

Analysis of ‘Directory Of Unsheltered Street Homeless To General Population Ratio 2010’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/783fe600-3a75-46d8-8b91-4b626e273ffd 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 2010. *This represents a list of large U.S. cities for which DHS was able to confirm a recent estimate of the unsheltered population. A 2010 result is only available for Seattle, WA. Other cities either did not conduct a count in 2010, or their 2010 results are not yet available. 2009 unsheltered census figures were used for Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, and Washington, DC, and Boston; the 2007 estimate is used for Chicago. General population figures are the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau."

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

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.

The Local Employment Dynamics (LED) Partnership is a voluntary federal-state enterprise created for the purpose of merging employee, and employer data to provide a set of enhanced labor market statistics known collectively as Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI). The QWI are a set of economic indicators including employment, job creation, earnings, and other measures of employment flows. For the purposes of this dataset, LED data for 2018 is aggregated to Census Summary Level 070 (State + County + County Subdivision + Place/Remainder), and joined with the Emergency Solutions Grantee (ESG) areas spatial dataset for FY2018. The Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG), formally the Emergency Shelter Grants, program is designed to identify sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons, as well as those at risk of homelessness, and provide the services necessary to help those persons quickly regain stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis and/or homelessness. The ESG is a non-competitive formula grant awarded to recipients which are state governments, large cities, urban counties, and U.S. territories. Recipients make these funds available to eligible sub-recipients, which can be either local government agencies or private nonprofit organizations. The recipient agencies and organizations, which actually run the homeless assistance projects, apply for ESG funds to the governmental grantee, and not directly to HUD. Please note that this version of the data does not include Community Planning and Development (CPD) entitlement grantees. LED data for CPD entitlement areas can be obtained from the LED for CDBG Grantee Areas feature service. To learn more about the Local Employment Dynamics (LED) Partnership visit: https://lehd.ces.census.gov/, for questions about the spatial attribution of this dataset, please reach out to us at GISHelpdesk@hud.gov. Data Dictionary: DD_LED for ESG Grantee Areas

Date of Coverage: ESG-2021/LED-2018

A novel and comprehensive cross-sectional dataset (2017) was developed to document and measure municipal supportive housing policy choices and key political factors associated with these choices. The dataset is comprised of 232 municipalities of 354 municipal continuums of care (CoCs) from the HUD 2016 CoC database in order to control for cities directly receiving federal homeless funding. The final sample accounts for 66 percent of all CoCs in the U.S. Municipalities were chosen based on their inclusion in the HUD 2016 Point in Time (PIT) count survey, therefore selecting municipalities with a CoC that are receiving federal funding for homelessness solutions. This is a comprehensive, cross-sectional dataset of municipalities across the United States that includes measures of local homeless policies; measures of local political indicators including local policy conservatism, fragmentation, municipal governmental structure; other relevant social policies (Sanctuary City status, Medicaid expansion, state level supportive housing policy); local demographic characteristics; local economic factors.

"Ratio of Homeless Population to General Population in major US Cities in 2009. *This represents a list of large U.S. cities with a similar street count methodology for which DHS was able to confirm a recent Census; 2009 results are not yet available for LA, SF, and Chicago. All population figures are from the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimate."

This dataset provides information on 96 in Pennsylvania, United States as of June, 2025. It includes details such as email addresses (where publicly available), phone numbers (where publicly available), and geocoded addresses. Explore market trends, identify potential business partners, and gain valuable insights into the industry. Download a complimentary sample of 10 records to see what's included.

The Local Employment Dynamics (LED) Partnership is a voluntary federal-state enterprise created for the purpose of merging employee, and employer data to provide a set of enhanced labor market statistics known collectively as Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI). The QWI are a set of economic indicators including employment, job creation, earnings, and other measures of employment flows. For the purposes of this dataset, LED data for 2018 is aggregated to Census Summary Level 070 (State + County + County Subdivision + Place/Remainder), and joined with the Continuum of Care Program grantee areas spatial dataset for FY2017. The Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance Programs administered by HUD award funds competitively and require the development of a Continuum of Care system in the community where assistance is being sought. A continuum of care system is designed to address the critical problem of homelessness through a coordinated community-based process of identifying needs and building a system to address those needs. The approach is predicated on the understanding that homelessness is not caused merely by a lack of shelter, but involves a variety of underlying, unmet needs - physical, economic, and social. Funds are granted based on the competition following the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). Please note that this version of the data does not include Community Planning and Development (CPD) entitlement grantees. LED data for CPD entitlement areas can be obtained from the LED for CDBG Grantee Areas feature service. To learn more about the Local Employment Dynamics (LED) Partnership visit: https://lehd.ces.census.gov/, for questions about the spatial attribution of this dataset, please reach out to us at GISHelpdesk@hud.gov. Data Dictionary: DD_LED for CoC Grantee Areas

Date of Coverage: CoC-2021/LED-2018

This dataset provides data on youth who sought DYCD Runaway & Homeless Youth services and then were unable to access an RHY bed or subsequently refused services. 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.