The Economic Consequences of Homelessness in The US

2National 1National Estimates
Homeless Individuals
Homelessness in the United States
Data source: PIT 2007–2017
Since 2016
• The number of people experiencing
homelessness as individuals—that is, in
households without children--increased
by four percent (13,869 more individuals)
between 2016 and 2017. This increase was
driven entirely by an increase in the number of
unsheltered individuals (a 12% rise). Sheltered
homelessness among individuals decreased by
4,864 people (or 3%).
• Homelessness among individuals increased
across all age groups. The number of children
(people under 18) experiencing homelessness
as individuals increased by 997, the number
of people between the ages of 18 and 24
increased by 4,179, and the number of people
homeless as individuals over the age of 24
increased by 8,693.
• For each age group, increases were driven
entirely by increases in the number of people
experiencing homelessness in unsheltered
locations, while the number of sheltered
individuals declined across all age groups.
• For people over the age of 24 experiencing
homelessness as individuals, the unsheltered
number increased by nine percent (12,951
people), while the number of those sheltered
decreased by two percent (or 4,258 fewer
people),
The increase in the number of
people experiencing homelessness
as individuals was driven entirely
by an increase in the number of
unsheltered individuals (a 12% rise).
• There were five percent more women
experiencing homelessness as individuals in
2017 than in 2016, driven by a 14 percent rise in
unsheltered women. There were three percent
more men and 11 percent more unsheltered
men. The only group for whom the rise in the
sheltered number drove an overall increase
was people who identified as transgender (310
more transgender individuals in shelter in 2017
than in 2016).
• The number of people experiencing
homelessness as individuals who identified
as Hispanic or Latino increased by 14 percent
overall, compared to two percent for non-
Hispanic or Latino individuals. Unsheltered
homelessness among Hispanic individuals
increased at a greater rate than among non-
Hispanic individuals (by 35% compared
to 6%). At the same time, the Hispanic
population experienced declines in sheltered
homelessness at a greater rate than non-
Hispanic individuals (a 7% decline compared to
a 2% decline).
• Homelessness among African American
individuals increased by six percent overall
(or 7,299 people) and by 27 percent among
the unsheltered population (or 11,399 people).
Homelessness among white individuals
increased by two percent overall (or 2,856
people) and by seven percent among the
unsheltered population (or 5,944 people).
Since 2007
• Over a longer time period, 2007-2017, individual
homelessness declined by 11 percent (43,619
fewer people). This decline was comprised
of both a decline in the number of homeless
individuals in unsheltered locations – which
dropped by 12 percent (23,690 fewer people) –
and in sheltered locations, which dropped by
nine percent (or 19,929 people).
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