Quick Answer
How many are homeless in America in 2025?
Approximately 326,126 people are living in transitional housing and homeless shelters.
For those who are curious to know how many are homeless in America in 2025, this article is for you.
The term “homelessness” in America was first used to describe tramps searching for jobs in the 1870s. The solution to homelessness before is the availability of jobs in the country.
In the 1900s, the creation of affordable housing was viewed as the answer to this problem. However, the recession since Great Depression has resulted in deep cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development budget.
At present, homeless individuals sleep in abandoned places and streets or stay in transitional housing due to unemployment, low wages, expensive housing, and poverty.
How Many Homeless in America in 2025
How many are homeless in America? According to the latest report, approximately 326,126 people are living in transitional housing and homeless shelters.
Unsheltered people were not yet counted since the assigned department supported lessening the spread of COVID-19 throughout the year.
In 2020, there were 580,466 homeless individuals in America, equivalent to almost 0.18% of the 2020 US population. Among these numbers, 65% were sheltered individuals while 35% were unsheltered.
Based on the report of HUD Exchange, around 17 to 18 individuals out of 10,000 are homeless every day.
Here is the estimated number of homeless individuals in America from 2011 to 2021:
- In 2011, there were approximately 623,788 homeless individuals in America
- In 2012, there were approximately 621,553 homeless individuals in America
- In 2013, there were approximately 590,364 homeless individuals in America
- In 2014, there were approximately 576,450 homeless individuals in America
- In 2015, there were approximately 564,708 homeless individuals in America
- In 2016, there were approximately 549,928 homeless individuals in America
- In 2017, there were approximately 553,742 homeless individuals in America
- In 2018, there were approximately 552,830 homeless individuals in America
- In 2019, there were approximately 567,715 homeless individuals in America
- In 2020, there were approximately 580,466 homeless individuals in America
- In 2021, there were approximately 326,126 homeless individuals in America excluding the unsheltered
Age Groups of Homeless in America
Statistics show that there are 22,048 veterans living in homeless shelters in America while 15,204 are unsheltered. Almost 91% of these homeless veterans are male.
Homeless youth ages 18 to 24 years old are around 8% of the country’s total number of homeless people.
While the unaccompanied homeless individuals who stay on the streets aged below 25 years old are approximately 34,120.
About 263,058 homeless students stay with their parents in California. These homeless youth are predominantly male.
Top States in the US with the Most Homeless People
Based on the 2020 data, California has the most homeless individuals in the United States, accounting for around one-fifth of the country’s total homeless population.
On the other hand, North Dakota has the least homeless population with approximately 541 homeless people.
Below are the top states in the US with the most homeless people in 2020 according to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness:
- California has 161,548 total homeless people
- New York has 91,271 total homeless people
- Florida has 27,487 total homeless people
- Texas has 27,229 total homeless people
- Washington has 22,923 total homeless people
- Massachusetts has 17,975 total homeless people
- Oregon has 14,655 total homeless people
- Pennsylvania has 13,375 total homeless people
- Arizona has 10,979 total homeless people
- Ohio has 10,655 total homeless people
Cities in the United States with the Most Homeless People
Homelessness is mostly an urban concern. More or less half of the homeless population in the United States is across its biggest cities.
The top two cities with the most homeless individuals are New York City and Los Angeles City and County.
Let’s look at the list of the cities with the most homeless people in the US in 2020:
- New York City recorded 77,943 homeless people
- Los Angeles City and County recorded 63,706 homeless people
- Seattle/King County recorded 11,751 homeless people
- San Jose/Santa Clara City and County recorded 9,605 homeless people
- Oakland, Berkeley/Alameda County recorded 8,137 homeless people
- San Francisco recorded 8,124 homeless people
- San Diego City and County recorded 7,638 homeless people
- Phoenix, Mesa/Maricopa County recorded 7,419 homeless people
- Santa Ana, Anaheim/Orange County recorded 6,978 homeless people
- District of Columbia recorded 6,380 homeless people
What Causes of Homelessness in America?
Homelessness is brought about by different factors, some of these reasons are domestic violence, mental health issues, lack of affordable housing, and insufficient income.
About 15% of homeless adults were victims of domestic violence. 36,348 of them were given housing services within 24 hours.
In 2015, around 140,000 homeless individuals have severe mental illnesses, equivalent to 25% of America’s total homeless population.
At the same time, 250,000 homeless individuals have mental health problems, approximately 45% of the country’s homeless population.
According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), only 5.8 million affordable rental units were available to 10.3 million renters with extremely low incomes (ELI).
Approximately 31 in every 100 affordable housing were available to ELI renters. 75% of these people ended up with less than half of their wages after paying for their rent and utilities.
How to Reduce Homelessness in America?
Here are some of the following solutions to reduce homelessness in America:
- Coordinate community-specific goals and programs
- Strengthen rehousing services
- Support affordable housing development
- Provide long-term housing or rental assistance for the most vulnerable people
- Create an effective and efficient crisis response
- Increase income and job opportunities
- Expand connections with local housing resources
Conclusion
The number of homeless people in America continuously increases since 2016. About 66.7% of America’s homeless population are those who are not accompanied by anyone, while 33.3% were families.
Many homeless people experienced post-traumatic stress disorder, mental illness, domestic abuse, drug addiction, disability, and HIV/AIDS.
Thanks for reading our article on how homelessness in America in 2025.
