HUD 2025 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report Finds First Reduction in Overall Homelessness in Nearly a Decade

By David Gonzalez Rice, NLIHC Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Alayna Calabro, NLIHC Senior Policy Analyst 

HUD released the results of the national Point-in-Time-Count in its 2025 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR), Part 1 on May 29, which provides estimates of homelessness in the U.S. The 2025 AHAR report estimates that approximately 745,652 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2025, which represents a 3.4% decrease from 2024, the first year-on-year decrease since 2016.  

The AHAR summarizes estimates of homelessness at the national, state, and Continuum of Care (CoC) levels based on data from the annual point-in-time (PIT) counts of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2025. CoCs are local planning bodies responsible for coordinating homelessness services. The PIT counts, conducted by local volunteers, are a “snapshot” of homelessness. 

The overall decrease was driven by an 11.2% decrease among people experiencing homelessness in families (a household with at least one adult and one child), while individuals not in families saw a slight increase (.6%), reaching the highest reported number on record for this group.  
 
The overall decrease was also evident across both sheltered homelessness, people living in emergency shelters or transitional housing, and unsheltered homelessness, people living in places not meant for human habitation, such as streets, parks, vehicles, or abandoned buildings. According to the report, sheltered homelessness decreased by 4% (16,931 fewer people) between 2024 and 2025. At the same time, unsheltered homelessness fell by 3% (7,904 people). 

Among people experiencing homelessness, 64% were staying in sheltered locations, while 36% were staying in unsheltered locations. 

Most people experiencing homelessness were individuals not in families, making up 64% (515,286) of people experiencing homelessness. This year marks the highest figure on record for this group, which saw a less than 1% increase from 2024-2025 (3,279 individuals). 
 
Twenty-six percent of people experiencing homelessness (230,366) were in families composed of at least one adult and one child. The number of people in families experiencing homelessness decreased by nearly 30,000 people (an 11% reduction) between 2024 and 2025.  

Unaccompanied youth under age 18 make up under 5% (35,159) of the total homeless population, and these youth are counted as individuals experiencing homelessness. Homelessness among unaccompanied youth decreased by more than 3,000 people (8%) between 2024 and 2025. 
 
Veterans made up just over 4% (32,495) of people experiencing homelessness. This year marks a very slight decrease (1.2%) from 2024 and the lowest figure on record for this group. People who identify as Black, Latino, American Indian, Alaska Native, Pacific Islander, or Native Hawaiian continue to be overrepresented among the homeless population compared to the U.S. population. Black people, for example, represent 14% of the U.S. population, but accounted for 33% of all people experiencing homelessness in 2025. People identifying as Latino account for 27.5% of the homeless population. American Indian, Alaska Native, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian people account for 4% of the homeless population. 
 
Chronic homelessness – long-time homelessness with a disability – continued to rise to the highest figure on record (155,750) while unsheltered chronic homelessness declined for the first time since 2018 (96,711). 

Trends in homelessness vary across CoCs, which are categorized based on the type of geographic area they serve. Major city CoCs are home to more than half of all people experiencing homelessness and half of unsheltered homelessness. Twenty-four percent of people experiencing homelessness are served by largely suburban CoCs, followed by largely rural CoCs (20%), and other largely urban CoCs (7%). Though people experiencing homelessness predominantly reside in urban areas, rural and suburban areas have seen increases in recent years, together accounting for more than 40% of homelessness nationally. Unsheltered homelessness is especially prevalent in rural CoCs, which represent 20% of unsheltered homelessness nationally. 

The 2025 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress, Part 1 is available here.