The Economic Consequences of Homelessness in The US

2Estimates 1National Estimates by CoC
Homeless Individuals
Homelessness in the United States
Data source: PIT 2007–2017; Excludes Puerto Rico and U.S. territories
On a Single Night in January 2017
• Major cities accounted for more than half
of all people experiencing homelessness as
individuals (52% or 282,491 people). Smaller
cities, counties, and regional CoCs accounted
for 35 percent (or 190,077 people), and BoS or
statewide CoCs had 13 percent (46,254 people).
• Three of the ten major cities with the
largest numbers of individuals experiencing
homelessness were not also among the cities
with the largest homeless populations overall.
Oakland, Denver, and Phoenix replaced Boston,
Philadelphia, and the District of Columbia as
the major cities with the largest numbers of
homeless individuals.
• Major cities accounted for a larger share of the
national total of unsheltered individuals than of
sheltered individuals (56% compared to 48%).
• Three major cities reported that more than
80 percent of homeless individuals were
unsheltered. All three were in California:
Fresno (88%), Los Angeles (84%), and San Jose
(82%).
• Of smaller cities, counties, and regional CoCs,
nine reported individual unsheltered rates
exceeding 90 percent. Two of the highest rates
were in the CoC abutting Lake Okeechobee
(Hendry, Hardee, Highlands counties) in
Florida (98%) and in the Inyo, Mono, and Alpine
counties in California, which border Nevada
(97%).
• The lowest rates of unsheltered homeless
individuals in smaller cities, counties, and
regional CoCs were in Sioux City/Dakota
Woodbury Counties, IA at one percent and
Sullivan County, NY at two percent.
• The Nebraska BoS had the lowest rates of
unsheltered individuals, at five percent. Iowa
BoS also reported low rates, at six percent.
EXHIBIT 2.8: Homeless Individuals
By CoC Category and Sheltered Status, 2017
All Homeless
Individuals
Sheltered
Individuals
Unsheltered
Individuals
0% 100%
Major Cities
52.1
48.4
37.6
56.1 32.7
Smaller City, County, and Regional CoCs
Balance of State and Statewide CoCs
35.3 12.7
14.1
11.1
Continuums of Care (CoC) Were
Divided into Three Geographic
Categories
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 and Statewide CoCs.
Balance of State (BoS) and statewide CoCs
(n=40) are typically composed of multiple
rural counties or represent an entire state.
28