Homelessness by state

Most people counted: California and New York

On the night of the January 2025 count, California had 181,934 people experiencing homelessness and New York had 145,560. No other state came close. Washington was a distant third with 31,721, and four more states were grouped just below it: Massachusetts (28,311), Texas (28,031), Florida (27,888) and Oregon (27,202¹).

Counts follow population only loosely. Texas and Florida each have far more residents than Washington, Massachusetts or Oregon, yet their counts were in the same range. At the small end, Wyoming counted 535 people and North Dakota 861. Half of the states counted fewer than 5,243¹.

California181,934

New York145,560

Washington31,721

Massachusetts28,311

Texas28,031

Florida27,888

Oregon27,202

Colorado16,687

North Carolina15,512

Arizona15,259

Pennsylvania14,834

Illinois14,576

Source: HUD Office of Policy Development and Research, 2025 AHAR. Period: January 2025 (one night).

Show the numbers

State	People experiencing homelessness
California	181,934
New York	145,560
Washington	31,721
Massachusetts	28,311
Texas	28,031
Florida	27,888
Oregon	27,202
Colorado	16,687
North Carolina	15,512
Arizona	15,259
Pennsylvania	14,834
Illinois	14,576

Relative to population: the District of Columbia and New York

Dividing the count by population puts the District of Columbia first, at 74.2 per 10,000 residents, with New York almost level (72.8 per 10,000 residents). Oregon (63.7 per 10,000 residents), Vermont (52.4 per 10,000 residents), Hawaii (47.6 per 10,000 residents) and California (46.2 per 10,000 residents) follow. HUD's national rate is 22¹ per 10,000 people.

The rate reshuffles the count ranking. Vermont counted only 3,386 people, but relative to its small population that is 4th highest, 2nd highest in the Northeast. California, first by count, is 6th highest by rate. Texas (8.9 per 10,000 residents) and Florida (11.9 per 10,000 residents), both in the top six by count, are below the median state (13.0 per 10,000 residents¹). The national rate is well above that median because the states with the largest counts also have high rates; most states are below the national figure.

At the bottom, Mississippi's rate of 4.2 per 10,000 residents is the lowest in the nation and stands apart. The next three, South Carolina, Louisiana and Alabama, are tied at 8.0 per 10,000 residents, with Virginia just above at 8.2 per 10,000 residents¹.

High rates on the coasts, low across the interior

The map has a clear shape. Western states take six of the top ten places (Oregon, Hawaii, California, Washington, Alaska and Nevada), and New York, Vermont and Massachusetts take three more. In the West the range runs from Oregon (63.7 per 10,000 residents) to Wyoming (9.1 per 10,000 residents); in the Northeast from New York (72.8 per 10,000 residents) to Connecticut (10.1 per 10,000 residents¹).

The Midwest is the most uniform region. Its highest rate, in South Dakota (15.6 per 10,000 residents), is still below the national rate, and its lowest is Iowa (8.7 per 10,000 residents). In the South, the District of Columbia is the exception; the highest rate among the Southern states is in Delaware (14.9 per 10,000 residents), 2nd highest in the South¹ after DC, and the region also contains the four lowest rates in the country.

Sheltered or outside: two different patterns

Of the 745,652 people counted nationally, 479,332 were in emergency shelters, transitional housing or safe havens and 266,320 were unsheltered, sleeping in places not meant for people to live, such as streets, vehicles or abandoned buildings. That is an unsheltered share of 35.7%¹.

The states with the two largest counts sit at opposite ends. In New York, 4.0% of the people counted were unsheltered, 31.7 percentage points below the US figure (35.7%) and the lowest share of any state; 139,704 people were in shelter. In California, 63.5% were unsheltered, 27.8 percentage points above the US figure (35.7%) and the highest share. California alone accounted for 115,583 of the nation's 266,320¹ unsheltered people.

California63.5%

Oregon60.7%

Hawaii59.2%

Arizona55.7%

Georgia54.2%

Alabama53.8%

Arkansas53.2%

Mississippi41.7%

United States35.7%

Illinois14.2%

Vermont8.0%

Massachusetts6.2%

New York4.0%

Source: HUD Office of Policy Development and Research, 2025 AHAR. Period: January 2025 (one night).

Show the numbers

State	Unsheltered share
California	63.5%
Oregon	60.7%
Hawaii	59.2%
Arizona	55.7%
Georgia	54.2%
Alabama	53.8%
Arkansas	53.2%
Mississippi	41.7%
United States	35.7%
Illinois	14.2%
Vermont	8.0%
Massachusetts	6.2%
New York	4.0%

Low rates do not mean low unsheltered shares. Alabama (53.8%), Georgia (54.2%) and Arkansas (53.2%) all have rates below the median state, yet more than half of the people counted there were unsheltered. Massachusetts (6.2%), Vermont (8.0%) and Wisconsin (9.1%¹) share New York's pattern: almost everyone counted was in shelter.

January 2024 to January 2025: large drops in Illinois and Hawaii

The national count fell −3.3%, from 771,480 to 745,652. The largest declines were in Illinois, from 25,832 to 14,576 (−43.6%), and Hawaii, from 11,637 to 6,828 (−41.3%¹).

Both states had unusual counts the year before. HUD's 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, Part 1 linked Hawaii's 2024 increase largely to people displaced by the Maui wildfires and staying in disaster emergency shelters, and most of Illinois's 2024 increase to new arrivals, including asylum-seeking families, in Chicago's emergency shelters.

Counts rose in more than half of the states. North Carolina had the largest increase, from 11,626 to 15,512 (33.4%). Mississippi (19.6%), Oregon (18.9%), Utah (18.5%) and Maryland (17.3%) followed. In small states, a percentage change can rest on a few hundred people: Mississippi's rise took its count from 1,041 to 1,245. New York (−7.9%) and California (−2.8%¹) both fell.

Families, chronic homelessness, veterans and youth

HUD breaks the count into groups, and the states differ sharply in who is counted.

• People in families with children. Nationally 230,366. New York counted 84,923, more than half of its total, and Massachusetts 20,750 out of 28,311. California, with a larger total, counted 26,142. New York counted 46,175 children, against 15,448 in California.
• Chronic homelessness. HUD counted 169,467 people as chronically homeless. California had 68,949 of them, more than the next nine states combined; Washington (13,385) and Oregon (10,207) followed.
• Veterans. 32,495 veterans were counted, 8,686 of them in California, then Florida (2,141) and Texas (1,907).
• Unaccompanied youth under 25. 35,159 nationally, led by California (8,086) and New York (6,096¹).

How to read the point-in-time count

• One night, not one year. The figures come from the point-in-time count that local Continuums of Care carry out on a single night in late January and report to HUD. It counts people in emergency shelters, transitional housing and safe havens, and people found unsheltered. It is not the number of people who experience homelessness over a full year, and people staying temporarily with friends or family are not included, as HUD explains in its annual report.
• Methods vary. Each Continuum of Care counts unsheltered people with its own methods, and methods can change from year to year. A change in the count can reflect counting as well as real change.
• Two rates. HUD publishes its own rate in whole numbers. On that measure the District of Columbia (73) and New York (73¹) are tied; the rate with one decimal used in this ranking separates them.
• DC is a city. The District of Columbia is ranked with the states, as in HUD's tables, but it is a single urban area, so its rate is not directly comparable with that of a state that includes rural areas.
• States only. This site covers the 50 states and DC, not cities or counties; HUD publishes counts for each Continuum of Care for local figures.