The Economic Consequences of Homelessness in The US

1Estimates by CoC
Homelessness in the United States
Data source: PIT 2007–2017; Excludes Puerto Rico and U.S. territories
Continuums of Care (CoC) Were Divided
into Three Geographic Categories 1
Major city CoCs (n=48) cover the 50 largest
cities in the United States. In two cases (Phoenix
and Mesa, AZ, and Arlington and Fort Worth, TX),
two large cities were located in the same CoC.
Smaller city, county, and regional CoCs (n=306)
are jurisdictions that are neither one of the 50
largest cities in the United States nor Balance of
State or Statewide CoCs.
Balance of State (BoS) or statewide CoCs
(n=40) are typically composed of multiple rural
counties or represent an entire state.
On a Single Night in January 2017
• Nearly one of every four people experiencing
homelessness did so in New York City or
Los Angeles. Nearly all people experiencing
homelessness in New York City were sheltered
(95%). By comparison, only 25 percent of those
experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles
were sheltered in 2017.
• Some of the most populous major cities were
not among those with the largest homeless
populations. Chicago, Houston, and Phoenix
were among the five largest cities in the
country but were not among the cities with
the largest numbers of people experiencing
homelessness. In contrast, Seattle was the 18th
largest city in the country but had the third
largest homeless population. The District of
Columbia was 21st in total population and had
the fifth largest homeless population.
• In two major city CoCs, fewer than five percent
of all people experiencing homelessness did
so without shelter. Those CoCs were: Omaha/
Council Bluffs (4% or 57 people) and Boston
(3% or 186 people). In three major city CoCs, all
in California, more than 70 percent of people
experiencing homelessness were unsheltered.
Those were: Fresno/Madera County (76%), Los
Angeles (75%), and San Jose/Santa Clara (74%).
1 5 CoCs located in Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, and
Northern Mariana Islands were excluded from CoC-level analysis.
EXHIBIT 1.9: Percent of People Experiencing
Homelessness
By CoC Category and Sheltered Status, 2017
Total Homeless
Population
Sheltered
Population
Unsheltered
Population
0% 100%
Major Cities
51.5
50.8
52.9 34.2
Smaller City, County, and Regional CoCs
Balance of State and Statewide CoCs
34.9 13.6
35.2
14.0
12.9
Changes Over Time
• The number of all people experiencing
homelessness increased in major cities and
decreased elsewhere between 2016 and
2017. The number of people experiencing
homelessness in major cities increased by just
over five percent (13,922 people) between 2016
and 2017, driving the increase in homelessness
nationwide. More specifically, increases in
unsheltered homelessness in major cities
drove the national increase, with 17,139 more
unsheltered people in those CoCs (an increase
of 21%).
• The number of people who experienced
homelessness decreased by three percent
(6,386 fewer people) in smaller cities, counties,
and regional CoCs, and by four percent (3,308
fewer people) in balance of state (BoS) and
statewide CoCs.
• In addition to increasing in major cities, the
number of people experiencing homelessness
without shelter also increased in smaller cities,
counties, and regional CoCs between 2016 and
2017, but the number of unsheltered homeless
people declined in BoS and statewide CoCs.
• The number of people experiencing
homelessness who stayed in emergency
shelters or transitional housing decreased
across all three categories of CoCs between
16