U.S. Homelessness Drops 6% in 2025

The number of people experiencing homelessness in the United States fell by more than 6 percent in 2025. This decrease represents approximately 49,000 fewer individuals without stable housing. It marks the second consecutive year of decline, following a smaller drop recorded in 2024.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner announced the findings in a press release. He attributed the reduction to the administration's border security measures and efforts to remove criminal illegal aliens from the streets. Turner stated that these actions restored safety to communities and drove the historic decrease. The agency has not yet posted a detailed report on the annual count.

An independent analysis commissioned by the National Alliance to End Homelessness reviewed the same data. CEO Ann Oliva acknowledged the positive trend but credited different factors for the change. She noted that it is good news that more people are getting housed and that Congress-funded programs are working.

Despite the recent drops, nearly 700,000 people in the U.S. still live in shelters or on the streets. This number remains well above pre-pandemic levels. The Trump administration points to immigration policy changes as a key reason for the improvement. During the Biden administration, asylum seekers surged into homeless shelters in New York, Chicago, Boston, and Denver. Devon Kurtz, Public Safety Policy Director at the Cicero Institute, said these four cities accounted for half of the recent decline.

Kurtz also highlighted declines in cities like San Francisco. That city is expanding sober-living options, which are housing units that ban drugs and alcohol. Critics argue this approach can push people back onto the street if they relapse. The administration, however, says the drug-free requirement helps more people achieve recovery. It plans to overhaul several billion dollars in homelessness spending to shift funds toward short-term housing with mandated addiction and mental health treatment. Courts have blocked this plan so far.

The administration argues that the longstanding federal policy of providing permanent housing first and voluntary treatment later has failed. Oliva disagrees, saying programs that remove people from the street without preconditions drove much of the recent decline. This was especially true for veterans. Homelessness among U.S. veterans fell by more than 7 percent last year. Since 2010, veteran homelessness has dropped nearly 60 percent. Oliva said investments in these programs are closer to the scale of need for veterans than for any other group.

Oliva noted that more permanent housing is needed for those who are chronically homeless. This group is more likely to suffer from mental health problems and addiction. Unlike other demographics, the number of people who have been homeless for a long time saw a small uptick last year. HUD also cited a crackdown on encampments following a 2024 Supreme Court ruling. The court said cities can ban people from sleeping and camping in public places. Oliva’s analysis found that cities with such bans performed worse than the national average.

Other factors contributed to the broader decline. Rental markets softened in some areas, reducing the flow of newly unhoused people. Rents remain high but are down from record peaks during the pandemic. Declines were also seen in places affected by major weather disasters, such as western North Carolina and Hawaii. When federal and local groups moved in to help those displaced by storms, they also assisted unhoused people who had not previously received aid.