Annual Homelessness Assessment (PIT Count)
Up from 653,104 a year ago; roughly the population of Seattle
What is the current Annual Homelessness Assessment (PIT Count) reading?
771,480 people were counted experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2024, according to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Annual Homelessness Assessment Report. The count has climbed for 3 consecutive years. Because the point-in-time methodology counts only one night, it understates how many people experience homelessness over a full year.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2024 Point-in-Time count found 771,480 Americans experiencing homelessness on a single January night. The current reading is the highest count in the site series.
HUD's Annual Homeless Assessment Report is built on a one-night census carried out by local Continuums of Care. The 2024 count is 771,480, against 653,104 a year earlier and 580,466 before the pandemic. In absolute terms it is roughly the population of Seattle.
The single-night methodology is known to undercount. It misses people who couch-surf, who sleep in cars parked somewhere a surveyor won't walk, who cycle in and out of shelter across the year. The annualized count is substantially higher. The 771,480 count is the visible lower bound.
The drivers are not mysterious. Rents outpaced wages for the better part of a decade. Pandemic-era emergency rental assistance ran out. Medicaid / CHIP Enrollment shows 15 million people losing coverage in the unwinding since April 2023 — a shock that tends to move through the system toward housing instability.
The homelessness count, The Buffer, The Safety Net, and Falling Behind describe different populations and outcomes. The links provide context, not evidence of one sequence from a survey response to homelessness.
Explore Further
Is this happening to you?
Do you see more people experiencing homelessness in your community than you did a few years ago?
How has Annual Homelessness Assessment (PIT Count) changed over time?
Most affected counties
Counties with the highest safety net and buffer scores in the County Distress Index.
Explore all 3,144 counties →| Period | Value | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 771.48K | +118.376K |
| 2023 | 653.104K | +70.642K |
| 2022 | 582.462K | +1.996K |
| 2021 | 580.466K | 0 |
| 2020 | 580.466K | +12.466K |
| 2019 | 568K | +15.17K |
| 2018 | 552.83K | -912 |
| 2017 | 553.742K | +3.814K |
| 2016 | 549.928K | -14.78K |
| 2015 | 564.708K | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Americans are homeless?
771,480 people were counted as homeless on a single night in 2024 — the count HUD's Annual Homelessness Assessment Report produces. The actual number of people who experience homelessness over a full year is substantially higher, since the count captures only one night.
Is homelessness increasing?
Yes. The point-in-time count has climbed for 3 consecutive years, reaching 771,480 in 2024.
Where does homelessness data come from?
HUD's Annual Homelessness Assessment Report is based on a point-in-time count conducted on a single night every January, coordinating local homeless-service networks across the country to count both sheltered and unsheltered individuals.
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