2023 Homeless Count Results Reveal a Total Increase of 11% Among Three-Fourths of Continuums of Care (CoCs) That Counted 3,000 or More Persons in 2022

One-fourth of these CoCs have not yet publicly reported their 2023 results
or did not Complete a Sheltered and Unsheltered Count in 2023

• In 2022, 39 CoCs counted 3,000 or more persons during their homeless counts, collectively totaling 322,869 or more than half (55.4%) of the 582,462 total number of persons counted as homeless nationwide by all CoCs.
  • 2 of the 39 CoCs counted 60,000 or more persons each; 14 counted between 15,000 and 5,000 persons; and 22 counted less than 5,000 persons but more than 3,000.

• Of the 39 CoCs with a homeless count of 3,000 or more persons in 2022, 32 completed an unsheltered and sheltered count in 2023. Seven (7) only completed a sheltered count because HUD requires CoCs to complete an unsheltered count at least biennially.
  • Of the 32 CoCs, 28 have publicly reported their 2023 homeless count total and four (4) have not yet publicly reported their 2023 homeless count total.

• 28 or nearly three-fourths (71.8%) of the 39 CoCs publicly reported their 2023 Homeless Count results, collectively representing a 10.5% increase compared to their collective 2022 Homeless Counts as noted in Table 1.

• HUD officially releases total homeless count results and related subpopulation data for all CoCs and states and a national count and related subpopulation data in HUD Exchange during the last quarter of each year.

Table 1 lists the 28 of 39 CoCs that completed an unsheltered and sheltered count in 2023 and have made their 2023 count results publicly known. Collectively, the 28 CoCs counted 211,909 persons as homeless, which is 20,092 more persons than the 191,817 persons they counted as homeless in 2022, representing an increase of 10.5%.

Final 2023 Homeless Count Results

HUD does not require CoCs to complete an unsheltered count every year but requires an unsheltered count biennially. HUD does require CoCs to complete a sheltered count each year.

HUD required each CoC to submit their total unsheltered homeless count results and/or their sheltered count results and related subpopulation data by April 28 of this year. HUD then reviews and also revises, if needed, each CoC’s count results and related subpopulation data during the following few months or more. Thus, the 2023 count totals in Table 1 may be marginally different for a few of the 28 CoCs listed when HUD officially releases count results later this year.

HUD officially releases total homeless count results and related subpopulation data for each CoC and state in HUD Exchange under CoC Homeless Populations and Subpopulations Reports during the last quarter of each year. HUD also releases a national count and related subpopulation data.

The total national count will include every CoC’s 2023 unsheltered count and every CoC’s 2023 sheltered count. For CoCs that did not complete an unsheltered count in 2023, HUD will add the CoCs previous unsheltered count to the total national 2023 count. As a result, the 2023 total national count will include the 2023 sheltered count for every CoC, the 2023 unsheltered count for every CoC that completed one, and the previous unsheltered count for CoCs that did not complete a 2023 unsheltered count.

A Likely National Increase

The total 2023 national count will likely reveal an increase when compared to the 2022 national count.

This report notes that 39 CoCs counted more than half of the persons counted as homeless in 2022, and nearly three-fourths of the 39 CoCs publicly reported a collective 10.5% increase when their 2023 homeless counts are totaled and compared to their totaled 2022 homeless counts.

Also, one of the two CoCs that counted more than 60,000 persons as homeless in 2022 is the New York City CoC, which is one of the CoCs that completed an unsheltered and sheltered count in 2023 but has not publicly reported their 2023 homeless count total.

The New York City CoC has, however, publicly reported its 2023 unsheltered count of 4,042, which is 603 persons or 17.5% more than the 3,439 persons counted as unsheltered in 2022.

In its publicly released unsheltered report, the New York City CoC states that “In 2021 and 2022, the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated operational changes as volunteers were not involved in the HOPE survey. Which is why comparisons to HOPE years 2021- 2022 should be made with caution.”

Also, the Hub for Urban Initiatives recently released a report entitled Partial 2023 California Homeless Count Results Reveal a Statewide Increase of Nearly 9%.

More than half (24) of California’s 44 Continuums of Care (CoCs) publicly reported their 2023 homeless count by the time the report was released last month. The 24 CoCs collectively counted 126,082 persons as sheltered and unsheltered in 2023, which represents an increase of 9,936 persons or 8.6% when compared to the 116,146 persons they collectively counted in 2022, as noted in the report.

California’s total 2022 count of 171,521 sheltered and unsheltered persons represented nearly 30% of the 2022 national count of 582,462 sheltered and unsheltered persons. An increase of persons counted in California in 2023 will also contribute to a likely increase of persons counted nationally in 2023 when compared to the number of persons counted nationally in 2022.