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Updated February 16, 2018
How Many People Experience Homelessness?
Attempts by the federal government to estimate the number
Information Systems (HMIS). Through HMIS, local
of people who are homeless have only taken place on a
jurisdictions collect information about homeless individuals
regular basis for a little more than a decade. Prior to that,
they serve, and this is aggregated in information systems at
there had been several national estimates of homelessness
the community or state level.
but nothing both comprehensive and recurring.
Time Period: The HMIS estimates differ from PIT
The Department of Housing and Urban Development
counts in that they are based on a full year’s worth of
(HUD) is responsible for collecting and reporting data
information (rather than one day). The estimates are also
about the scale of homelessness. Congress initiated HUD’s
based on the federal fiscal year, from October 1 through
data collection efforts with a funding set-aside in the
September 30. Full-year estimates were first released for
department’s FY1999 appropriations bill, to be used to
FY2007 (FY2005 and FY2006 estimates used three and
collect homelessness data. (See P.L. 105-276, which
six months of data, respectively).
references House Appropriations Committee Report
Living Situation: The HMIS estimates only include
H.Rept. 105-610).
individuals who are sheltered—residing in emergency
HUD implemented data collection through local
shelters or transitional housing during the relevant time
Continuums of Care (CoCs), the cities, counties, or
periods. Estimates do not include persons living on the
combinations of both that are the recipients of HUD’s
street or in other places not meant for human
Homeless Assistance Grants. CoCs are expected to collect
habitation.
data and report to HUD. Since the mid-2000s, CoCs have
Method: The estimates are based on a sample of
regularly submitted data to HUD, which, in turn, releases
communities rather than an aggregation of all
information as part of Annual Homeless Assessment
communities. As a result, the estimates include
Reports (AHARs). HUD has released an AHAR each year
confidence intervals available as part of the AHARs and
from 2005 through 2017. (AHARs are available on HUD’s
supporting documents.
website at https://www.hudexchange.info/hdx/guides/ahar/)
Both PIT count and HMIS full-year estimates are published
HUD Data Sources
in HUD’s AHARs. See Table 1 for results from 2008 to
HUD reports two different estimates of homelessness in the
2017, though HMIS data are not yet available for 2017.
AHARs: point-in-time counts from one day during the year
Table 1. People Experiencing Homelessness
and full-year estimates based on a sample of jurisdictions.
HMIS Full-Year
Point-in-
The two data sources have strengths and weaknesses,
Year
Estimate
Time Count
discussed below. This In Focus notes when and why one
source or the other is used to present data.
2008
1,593,794
639,784
Point-in-Time (PIT) Counts
2009
1,558,917
630,227
HUD requires communities receiving funds through the
2010
1,593,150
637,077
Homeless Assistance Grants to conduct annual PIT counts
of people experiencing homelessness.
2011
1,502,196
623,788
Time Period: The counts are to occur on one day
2012
1,488,371
621,553
during the last week of January. Therefore, the counts
are a snapshot of the number of people who are
2013
1,422,360
590,364
homeless on a given day. They are not meant to
2014
1,488,465
576,450
represent the total number of people who experience
homelessness over the course of a year. PIT count
2015
1,484,576
564,708
results were first released for 2005.
2016
1,421,196
549,928
Living Situation: The counts are meant to capture all
persons experiencing homelessness including those
2017
—
553,742
living in shelters, transitional housing, the streets, and
Source: HUD’s Annual Homeless Assessment Reports,
other places not meant for human habitation.
https://www.hudexchange.info/hdx/guides/ahar/. Data from the 2007
Method: The PIT count is meant to capture all people
to 2014 AHARs were revised in the 2015 AHAR, so numbers may be
experiencing homelessness and is not an estimate based on
different from what was reported in previous years.
a sample (though local CoCs may use samples to arrive at
their totals). HUD aggregates all data received from CoCs.
Demographic Data
Full-Year Estimates
Adults and Children
Data for the full-year estimates of persons experiencing
According to both PIT counts and HMIS estimates, the
homelessness come from local Homeless Management
majority of homeless people are individual adults (i.e.,
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How Many People Experience Homelessness?
those not accompanied by children). In FY2016, according
and have been homeless continuously for one year or had
to HMIS data, nearly 65% of people experiencing sheltered
four or more episodes of homelessness in three years. HUD
homelessness were individual adults. Children represented
and the Department of Veterans Affairs began collaborating
22% of the sheltered homeless population. Figure 1 shows
to report the number of homeless veterans starting in 2009.
the percentages of adults and children who are homeless,
Table 2 contains numbers of homeless veterans, chronically
and their familial status, using HMIS data. (HMIS data
homeless individuals, and unaccompanied homeless
were used because a greater range of data are available.)
children and youth. PIT count data were used because
Figure 1. Homeless Adults and Children
HMIS full-year data do not break out all three
2016 HMIS Full-Year Estimates of Sheltered Homeless People
subpopulations. (Note that veterans are also included in
HMIS full-year estimates. See CRS Report RL34024,
Veterans and Homelessness, by Libby Perl.)
Table 2. Homeless Subpopulations
2007-2017 PIT Counts of All Homeless People
Chronically
Unaccompanied
Homeless
Youthb
Year
Veterans
Individualsa
(under age 25)
2007
—
119,813
—
2008
—
120,115
—
2009
73,367
107,212
—
Source: 2016 Annual Homeless Assessment Report and supporting
2010
74,087
106,062
—
materials; https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/5640/2016-ahar-
2011
65,455
103,522
—
part-2-estimates-of-homelessness-in-the-us/.
2012
60,579
96,268
—
Note: Transgender adults are included based on their gender
identity. Families are made up of at least one adult age 18 and over
2013
55,619
86,289
—
and one child under 18.
2014
49,689
83,989
—
Racial Composition
According to HMIS data, African Americans make up the
2015
47,725
83,170
—
largest percentage of homeless individuals, followed by
2016
39,471
77,486
—
white, non-Hispanics. See Figure 2 for homeless people
reported by race using 2016 HMIS data.
2017
40,056
86,962
40,799
Figure 2. Homeless Population by Race
Source: HUD’s Annual Homeless Assessment Reports,
https://www.hudexchange.info/hdx/guides/ahar/.
2016 HMIS Full-Year Estimates of Sheltered Homeless People
Notes: Data from the 2007 to 2014 AHARs were revised in the
2015 AHAR, so numbers may be different from what was reported in
previous years. Individuals may be included in more than one
subpopulation.
a. Does not include people in chronically homeless families, first
reported in 2013.
b. HUD has only reported homeless youth under age 25 since the
2013 PIT count. HUD changed its methodology for counting
homeless youth in 2015. Then, in 2017, HUD announced that it
had “selected the PIT counts from January 2017 as the baseline
measure of homelessness among unaccompanied youth.” As a
result, this table does not include counts from years prior to
2017.
State and Community-Level Data
Source: 2016 Annual Homeless Assessment Report,
https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/5640/2016-ahar-part-2-
Data about the number of people experiencing
estimates-of-homelessness-in-the-us/.
homelessness are not available by congressional district.
Notes: The total exceeds 100% due to rounding. Percentages are
However, HUD does make PIT count data available by
based on persons with race known. Persons with unknown race
state and Continuums of Care. Go to HUD’s CoC Homeless
made up 3.0% of all sheltered homeless persons.
Populations and Subpopulations Reports website and filter
Select Subpopulations
by year and geographic entity (state or CoC):
https://www.hudexchange.info/manage-a-program/coc-
The PIT counts separately report the number of homeless
homeless-populations-and-subpopulations-reports/.
individuals who are veterans, who experience chronic
homelessness, and who are unaccompanied youth.
Libby Perl, Specialist in Housing Policy
Homeless youth are those under age 25. Chronically
homeless individuals have one or more disabling conditions
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How Many People Experience Homelessness?
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