The Economic Consequences of Homelessness in The US

3National 1National Estimates
Homelessness Families in the with United Children States
Data source: PIT 2007–2017
EXHIBIT 3.1: PIT Estimates of Homeless
People in Families with Children
By Sheltered Status, 2007–2017
234,558
238,096 236,175
222,190
241,937
235,259
239,397
206,286
191,325 190,996 216,261 194,716
184,661
181,506
191,571 191,903
178,328
187,313
186,482
185,824175,563167,723
78,535 75,750
78,514 79,442 77,184 77,155
70,957 67,613 64,197 61,265 57,971
56,230 53,753 50,783 50,612 49,693 48,401
30,619
20,462 19,153 16,938
24,358
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Total Persons in Families
Family Households
Sheltered Persons in Families
Unsheltered Persons in Families
On a Single Night in January 2017
• 184,661 people were homeless in 57,971
families with children, representing one-third
250000
(33%) of the total homeless population in 2017.
• More than 90 percent of homeless people in
200000
families with children were sheltered (167,723
people). There were 16,938 people in families
150000 with children who were counted in unsheltered
locations.
100000 • On average, a homeless family household
consisted of three people.
50000
Demographic Characteristics
• Children under the age of 18 made up 59
percent of people experiencing homelessness
in families. Most of the adults were 25 years of
age or older.
• Children were especially likely to be sheltered
rather than unsheltered, with only eight
percent of children found in unsheltered
locations.
• The racial composition of people in families
with children varied by whether they were
sheltered or unsheltered. More than half of
sheltered people in families with children
were African American (53%), while African
Americans represented just 21 percent of the
unsheltered population. About a third (35%)
of sheltered people in families with children
were white, while people identifying as white
accounted for 59 percent of the unsheltered
population.
• More than 25 percent of people experiencing
homelessness in families with children were
Hispanic or Latino (27%), and this was higher
than the Hispanic share of people experiencing
homelessness as individuals (18%). Hispanics
comprised a slightly larger share of sheltered
people in families (28%) and a smaller share of
those in unsheltered locations (22%).
0
EXHIBIT 3.2: Parenting Youth
By Sheltered Status, 2017
People in Parenting Youth
Families
Sheltered People in
Parenting Youth Families
Unsheltered People in
Parenting Youth Families
# % # % # %
Total Parents under 25 9,436 100 8,859 100 577 100
Parenting Youth (Under 18) 96 1.0 83 0.9 13 2.3
Parenting Youth Age (18 to 24) 9,340 99.0 8,776 99.1 564 97.7
Children of Parenting Youth 12,152 11,433 719
32