On a single night in January 2025, communities across the United States counted 745,652 people experiencing homelessness, 3.3% fewer than the record 771,480 a year earlier. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) publishes these Point-in-Time counts state by state. We turned them into five rankings: the total count, the rate per 10,000 residents, people sleeping unsheltered, chronic homelessness and homeless veterans.
A national fall driven by two states
New York counted 12,459 fewer homeless people than in 2024 and Illinois 11,256 fewer; in both states most of the fall was among people in families. Elsewhere the trend was the other way: the count rose in 28 of the 50 states, led by Oregon, up 4,327.
California and New York, counted differently
California (181,934) and New York (145,560) together hold 43.9% of the national total, but their homeless populations look very different. In California 63.5% were unsheltered; in New York, which has a large shelter system, only 4.0%. Per resident, Washington, D.C. (74.1 per 10,000) and New York (72.8) have the highest rates, against 21.8 nationally.
Chronic homelessness at a new high, veterans near a low
Chronic homelessness, people with a disability who have been homeless for a year or more, rose 0.9% to 169,467, the highest since HUD's state tables began recording it in 2011. It went up in 34 states. Veteran homelessness moved the other way: 32,495 veterans were counted, the lowest in the series apart from the pandemic-limited 2021 count, and less than half the 74,087 of 2010.
Summary
| Chart | Highest | Value | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| States With the Most Homeless People 2025 | California | 181,934 | 745,652 |
| States With the Highest Homelessness Rate 2025 | District of Columbia | 74.1 | 21.8 |
| States With the Most Unsheltered Homeless People 2025 | California | 115,583 | 266,320 |
| States With the Most Chronically Homeless People 2025 | California | 68,949 | 169,467 |
| States With the Most Homeless Veterans 2025 | California | 8,686 | 32,495 |
About the data
The counts come from HUD's 2025 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, Part 1, and its state-level data file. They are taken on one night in late January, so they miss people staying with friends or family and are best read as a minimum. Rates use 2025 state population estimates from the Census Bureau, as published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. For housing costs in the same states, see our post on home values and rents by state.