State of Homelessness: 2025 Edition

It is imperative to focus the most attention on the central issues that drive the homelessness crisis: housing costs and low incomes. Research demonstrates the relationship between high housing costs and homelessness. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, when a CoC’s median rent increased $100, homelessness rose by 9 percent. From 2001–2023, median rents increased 23 percent (after adjusting for inflation) while renters’ median incomes rose just 5 percent. 

Rising housing costs and low incomes are causing more people to experience homelessness for the first time². While the PIT Count captures data from a point in time, the most recent data collected over the course of a year — in 2022 — indicated that approximately 682,612 people experiencing homelessness and seeking shelter did so for the first time. Without solutions to address the housing affordability crisis, it is likely that more people will continue to experience housing insecurity and flow into homelessness systems. 

While there have been reductions in their capacity to shelter and house people, workers and leaders in the homelessness response system are serving more people than ever before. On the night of the annual PIT CountPoint-in-Time (PIT) Count
HUD’s annual census of people experiencing homelessness — both sheltered and unsheltered — on a single night in January., more than 1.1 million people relied on the response system for shelter or permanent housing.³

While the total number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness increased, a greater share of people experiencing homelessness are sheltered. This indicates that when response workers are given more resources, they use them to serve more people in need.

Still, given shortages in affordable housing, many of these workers are overcoming tremendous challenges when they try to move people from sheltered or unsheltered homelessness into permanent housing.

Many groups of color are more likely than the overall population to be severely rent-burdened, paying more than half of their incomes on rent. Renters of color, and especially Black renters, experience higher eviction rates than White renters. Research from the Eviction Lab and the U.S. Census Bureau show that more than half of all eviction filings are against Black renters despite the group representing only 18 percent of renters.

Additionally, the nation’s social safety net does not distribute resources in ways that meaningfully address the impacts of systemic and individual discrimination and exclusion. This is reflected in high, and growing, rates of overall homelessness and unsheltered homelessnessUnsheltered Homelessness
HUD defines “unsheltered” as sleeping in places not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation — such as tents, train stations, sheds, or garages unfit for habitation. among Black and Indigenous people in particular. Although it is illegal to exclude a person from housing based on their race, data indicate that people of color face more harassment and discrimination when searching for a place to live. To ensure that everyone has an opportunity to access safe, stable housing, organizations and local officials need funding to enforce existing protections against discrimination. Communities of color also need targeted housing and economic support to address the impacts of systemic and deliberate efforts to withhold resources from them.

Most subgroups experienced large increases in homelessness in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, but because of the reasons outlined above, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American, Black and Native communities experienced the largest increases. Groups already more likely to be severely housing cost-burdened Housing Cost Burdened
Cost-burdened households spend 30 percent or more of income on housing; severely cost-burdened spend 50 percent or more. were impacted by rising rents and a slower jobs recovery rate. It is also likely that more Latino, Black, and Asian new arrivals are experiencing homelessness as a result of antiquated and failing immigration systems. These factors exacerbate existing inequities among these racial groups. Increasing resources for the homeless response system to better address these disparities would help build local economies and create more abundant communities for everyone.

Once homeless, some racial groups face greater challenges accessing emergency resources. This leads to higher rates of unsheltered homelessness. Even as unsheltered homelessness decreased between the 2023 and 2024 PIT CountsPoint-in-Time (PIT) Count
HUD’s annual census of people experiencing homelessness — both sheltered and unsheltered — on a single night in January., multi-racial and Indigenous people remained most likely to experience unsheltered homelessness.

These trends are important. It is also important to acknowledge that trends within these groups are less visible because government agencies tend to use broad race categories. For example, there are big differences in rates of housing insecurity within the umbrella term “Asian American.” Additionally, HUD added the category “Middle Eastern or North African” to the PIT Count for the first time in 2024. This may have impacted trends in other categories.

From 2023 to 2024, families with children experienced the largest year-over-year increase in homelessness of any group.

During the decade leading up to 2023, many communities were driving large decreases in homelessness among families because policymakers and practitioners often prioritize them for resources. These reductions quickened during the COVID-19 pandemic as investments in child care, healthcare, nutrition, and income programs for families with children grew. This created more economic stability for low-income families and lowered childhood poverty rates significantly. However, the end of increased investments tied to COVID-19 relief, coupled with a demand for affordable housing that greatly exceeds existing supply, is contributing to reversals of this progress.

Individuals remain the single largest group of people experiencing homelessness.

Individuals represent the largest subgroup of people experiencing homelessness. Since 2017, as housing costs rose and people faced greater challenges paying for rent, more individuals entered into homelessness. They simply had fewer housing options. Over the last couple of decades, the disappearance ofSingle Room Occupancy (SRO) units has coincided with rapid growths in single-person households. The lack of SROs impacts housing for people in various types of transitions, including young adults leaving their homes or foster care, those exiting relationships that involved co-habitating, people exiting institutions (prisons, jails, rehabilitation programs), or recent immigrants starting their lives in America. In 2024, 66 percent (512,007) of people experiencing homelessness were individuals. Among those living unshelteredUnsheltered Homelessness
HUD defines “unsheltered” as sleeping in places not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation — such as tents, train stations, sheds, or garages unfit for habitation., 93 percent were individuals.

Recurring homelessness among disabled people, most of whom are individuals, continues to rise in response to a shortage of accessible, affordable housing units.

People who have experienced homelessness for at least a year — or four separate times in the past three years, totaling one year — while having a disabling condition (such as a physical disability, chronic illness, or a challenge with their behavioral health or substance use) are considered chronically homeless.

• According to the 2024 PIT CountPoint-in-Time (PIT) Count
  HUD’s annual census of people experiencing homelessness — both sheltered and unsheltered — on a single night in January., 61 percent of people experiencing chronic homelessnessChronic Homelessness
  The status of being homeless for at least a year — or on at least four separate occasions in the past three years — while experiencing a disabling condition such as a physical disability, serious mental illness or substance use disorder. were unshelteredUnsheltered Homelessness
  HUD defines “unsheltered” as sleeping in places not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation — such as tents, train stations, sheds, or garages unfit for habitation..
• A large share (37 percent) of individuals experiencing chronic homelessness lived in a suburban or a rural area. These areas also experienced the largest increases in chronic homelessness from 2023 to 2024 (12.7 percent and 21.6 percent respectively).

Funding for deeply subsidized housing and services has not kept up with this population’s needs. Disabled people are often at a disadvantage when trying to access stable housing — they are paid subminimum wages and benefits, excluded from economic and housing opportunities, and face a high risk of eviction. Often, available housing does not meet their needs. As more people needed assistance and elected officials failed to invest enough resources to keep pace with this demand, people experiencing chronic homelessness increased rapidly.

As this population increased, some lawmakers endorsed ineffective approaches to chronic and unsheltered homelessness — like stigmatizing and punishing people who use substances or have mental health conditions but failed to enact real solutions. Abundant evidence demonstrates that homelessness is caused by a shortage of affordable housing and services for people in need. Punishing people experiencing homelessness only makes it more difficult to house them and does not improve public health or public safety. In fact, these policies waste money that could be used to address deep shortages in healthcare and affordable housing, as they further traumatize individuals who are simply trying to survive.  

On the other hand, the solutions to chronic homelessness are clear. Permanent housingPermanent Housing
HUD defines permanent housing as community-based housing with no set time limit, where participants hold a lease of at least one year, renewable monthly, and terminable only for cause., paired with wraparound voluntary services like healthcare, is most successful at keeping this population stably housed. Data suggest Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)
Permanent housing with housing assistance and supportive services to help households with a disabled member maintain housing stability. consistently keeps over 90 percent of its residents housed. It is likely that this also saves the public money. Because of how difficult it is to live outside, people experiencing chronic homelessness come into contact with costlier systems, including emergency rooms and jails, more frequently than the overall population. These costs go down when lawmakers invest in approaches grounded in the Housing First model, like PSH.

Despite PSH being well-supported by evidence, proposals from the current administration seek to limit funding to programs using the Housing First model. This will be worsened by the funding expiration for Emergency Housing Vouchers, an extraordinarily successful investment introduced in 2021 to more rapidly connect vulnerable populations with housing. The United States could end chronic homelessness with a greater investment in PSH and other evidence-based strategies.

Children experienced the largest increases in homelessness, but adults continue to be more likely to experience it.

Key data points related to homelessness vary by age group:

• The number of childrenChildren
  The term “children” refers to all people who are under the age of 18. The term “Youth” includes people who are under the age of 25. Both categories include youth who are in families and youth who are unaccompanied. experiencing homelessness increased 33 percent between 2023 and 2024 — the highest annual increase across all age groups. During the 2024 PIT CountPoint-in-Time (PIT) Count
  HUD’s annual census of people experiencing homelessness — both sheltered and unsheltered — on a single night in January., 148,238 people experiencing homelessness were under the age of 18.
• Among adults, 35 out of every 10,000 people aged 35–44 experienced homelessness during the 2024 PIT Count — the highest rate of homelessness across all age groups.
• Adults over 45 years of age experienced higher rates of unsheltered homelessnessUnsheltered Homelessness
  HUD defines “unsheltered” as sleeping in places not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation — such as tents, train stations, sheds, or garages unfit for habitation. than their younger counterparts.

Youth (Under Age 25)

During the 2024 PIT Count, 205,878 people (or 27 percent of all people who experienced homelessness) were under the age of 25. This is a 29 percent increase since 2023. According to research by Chapin Hall, one out of every 10 people 18 to 25 years of age experience homelessness at some point over the year.

Not all young people are equally impacted. While the total number of unaccompanied youthUnaccompanied Youth
HUD defines “unaccompanied youth” as people under the age of 25 who do not have children and are living without a parent or guardian present. Unaccompanied gender-expansive youth are also a part of this group. experiencing homelessness has increased 9 percent since the 2019 PIT Count, the number who are gender-expansiveGender Expansive
People whose identity differs from their birth sex and/or who don’t solely identify as male or female. HUD asks people experiencing homelessness to select their gender identity, but the categories have changed over time. increased 57 percent. Research also indicates that Latino, Black, Asian, and Multiracial youth all experience homelessness at higher rates than youth overall.

Currently, less than 8 percent of children experience unsheltered homelessness, which is the lowest share among all age groups. Programs that target resources toward children and youth, including the federal Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) and Runaway Homeless Youth Act, have been significantly successful in stabilizing the housing of youth throughout the country. However, some youth still go without shelter and recent federal-level policy proposals threaten to reduce or eliminate their funding.

Parenting Youth

Of new concern is the fact that the number of parenting youthParenting Youth
People under age 25 who are the parents or legal guardians of one or more children (under age 18) and live with their child(ren) without anyone above the age of 24. experiencing homelessness also increased 28 percent since 2023, reversing a downward trend since HUD began reporting data on parenting youth in 2015.

Older Adults

Older adults — those 55 and older — face unique challenges. They are the fastest-growing group of people experiencing homelessness in America and are increasingly cost-burdened Housing Cost Burdened
Cost-burdened households spend 30 percent or more of income on housing; severely cost-burdened spend 50 percent or more. as rising costs of living exceed Social Security Income. This is a growing crisis: the number of older adults experiencing homelessness is estimated to triple between 2017 and 2030.

The majority of people experiencing homelessness are men, but the number of women experiencing homelessness is growing quickly.

• According to the 2024 PIT CountPoint-in-Time (PIT) Count
  HUD’s annual census of people experiencing homelessness — both sheltered and unsheltered — on a single night in January., 60 percent of people experiencing homelessness were men.
• 28 out of every 10,000 men experienced homelessness, a 15 percent increase from 2023.
• 18 out of every 10,000 women experienced homelessness, a 19 percent increase from 2023.

Individual men make up the majority of people experiencing homelessness, and men of color are overrepresented among individual men experiencing homelessness. However, homelessness among women is increasing at a faster pace than among men. Unsheltered homelessnessUnsheltered Homelessness
HUD defines “unsheltered” as sleeping in places not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation — such as tents, train stations, sheds, or garages unfit for habitation. among both men and women decreased from 2023–2024, but men remained more likely to be unsheltered. Responding to the increased housing challenges among women addresses an emerging concern before it has an opportunity to worsen. At the same time, focusing on men living on their own (the largest subgroup within homelessness) would significantly reduce homelessness.

HUD does not report data at the intersection of race and gender; however, men and women of color face specific challenges accessing safe and deeply affordable housing. Ensuring that people of color, and especially individuals of color, have access to housing will be an important step toward ensuring that everyone has the housing they need to contribute to more prosperous communities.

Gender-expansive people — people who identify as transgender, nonbinary, more than one gender, gender questioning, or a culturally specific identity — face discrimination, exclusion, and violence. Evidence suggests that these experiences push them into homelessness at higher rates.

Since data reporting about this population began in 2015, gender-expansive peopleGender Expansive
People whose identity differs from their birth sex and/or who don’t solely identify as male or female. HUD asks people experiencing homelessness to select their gender identity, but the categories have changed over time. have consistently experienced faster increases in homelessness and higher rates of unsheltered homelessnessUnsheltered Homelessness
HUD defines “unsheltered” as sleeping in places not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation — such as tents, train stations, sheds, or garages unfit for habitation. than cisgender people. Gender-expansive people face housing discrimination, harassment, violence, employment discrimination, and barriers to accessing social safety nets. This leads to a heightened risk of homelessness. While it is likely that these systemic barriers have always caused high rates of gender-expansive homelessness, data collection is only beginning to capture the full impact that these barriers have on housing security.

Since 2015, homelessness among gender-expansive people increased 618 percent, compared with a 35 percent increase among cisgender men and women. In part, these increases are attributable to HUD adding new categories to the PIT CountPoint-in-Time (PIT) Count
HUD’s annual census of people experiencing homelessness — both sheltered and unsheltered — on a single night in January. that do a better job capturing the gender-expansive community. However, gender-expansive people are consistently overrepresented in the unsheltered population, indicating that they also continue to face greater challenges accessing shelter and permanent housingPermanent Housing
HUD defines permanent housing as community-based housing with no set time limit, where participants hold a lease of at least one year, renewable monthly, and terminable only for cause.. Among gender questioning people and people with a culturally specific gender identity experiencing homelessness, 8 in 10 did not stay in shelter. These trends emphasize that gender-expansive people experiencing homelessness have not been reflected in policy and practice to the degree that is necessary to meet their needs.

Based on independent analyses, it is also likely that gender-expansive people experience high rates of homelessness relative to their population size. A 2022 national survey of transgender people found that 34 percent of respondents were currently experiencing poverty, and 30 percent experienced homelessness during their lifetime. These factors point to the urgent need to create and expand policies that make services more accessible and inclusive for gender-expansive households.

Targeting attention on key categories of communities is helpful. But totally ending homelessness requires focusing on every community in America and charting their progress toward housing everyone in need. Therefore, a national strategy must incorporate the needs of all states and communities.

One way to understand these local needs is to examine the state population counts. Population counts reveal that, in 2024, many states experienced setbacks rooted in high housing costs, low-income growth, and weak safety nets. With the end of pandemic assistance to households, rising inflation, slower income growth, and an increase in natural disasters, more people faced challenges staying housed. Even states that had made progress reducing homelessness over the last decades saw increases in their homeless populations between 2023 and 2024. But some states were able to sustain progress.

A second way to understand every state’s progress toward ending homelessness is to focus on experiences of homelessness per capita (i.e., comparing the size of the homeless and overall populations). High housing costs and a weak safety net can cause a greater percentage of a state’s residents to fall into homelessness. For example, states like California and Washington that have high housing costs also have relatively high percentages of people experiencing homelessness.