New Federal Data Shows Continued Increases in Chronic and Unsheltered Homelessness, Reductions for Families, Youth, and Veterans

Uneven Progress Highlights an Urgent Need for Targeted and Increased Investments

December 19, 2022, Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today released the 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress (Part 1). The report shows that homelessness increased by 0.3 percent since 2020.

In light of the unprecedented economic strain caused by COVID-19, combined with a severe and prolonged nationwide affordable housing crisis, the numbers buck predictions that homelessness would skyrocket during the pandemic. The progress for specific populations illustrates that federal resources, when targeted to the needs of specific subpopulations and combined with best practices on the system and provider level, can and do prevent and end homelessness.

Unfortunately, they also illustrate that homelessness increases among other subpopulations when these investments are not scaled or targeted to their needs.

Key Increases

The report shows that on a single night in 2022, at least 582,462 people experienced homelessness in the United States. This represents an increase of nearly 2,000 people since 2020. Of those experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2022, 384,630 were sheltered, and 233,832 were unsheltered.

• The overall number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness increased by 3.4 percent since 2020.
• The number of individuals experiencing chronic homelessness increased by 15.6 percent, with a 32.4 percent increase in the number of chronic individuals in shelter and a 7.1 percent increase among people who are unsheltered.
• The overall number of individual adults experiencing homelessness (i.e., those not experiencing homelessness as a member of a family unit) increased by 3.1 percent.

“The data is clear that we need dramatically greater federal resources for those experiencing chronic and unsheltered homelessness and a greater commitment to affordable housing for everyone,” said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “The longer this crisis plays out in communities, the more willing elected officials will become to advance harmful and ineffective responses, instead of the proven strategies that are driving declines for other groups.”

About the National Alliance to End Homelessness

The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. As a leading voice on the issue of homelessness, the Alliance analyzes policy and develops pragmatic, cost-effective solutions; works collaboratively with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to build state and local capacity; and provides data and research to policymakers and elected officials in order to inform policy debates and educate the public and opinion leaders nationwide.