States With the Most Chronically Homeless People 2025

What this chart shows. People experiencing chronic homelessness in January 2025, by state. California counted 68,949, 40.7% of the 169,467 nationwide, followed by Washington with 13,385 and Oregon with 10,207. The three West Coast states together account for 54.6% of the national total.

How the data is collected. HUD defines a chronically homeless person as someone with a disability who has been homeless continuously for at least a year, or at least four times in the past three years for a combined twelve months. Communities record this in the same January Point-in-Time count, from shelter records and from interviews with people found outside.

Background. While the overall count fell, chronic homelessness rose 0.9% from 167,991 in 2024, to the highest level since HUD's state tables began recording it in 2011, when it stood at 119,033. It increased in 34 of the 50 states. Oregon went from 8,413 to 10,207 and Colorado from 4,639 to 5,540.

Limits. Whether someone counts as chronically homeless depends on what they report about their disability and housing history, which is harder to establish for people interviewed on the street than for shelter residents. The 2021 count was limited by the pandemic, when many communities skipped the unsheltered count, so that year is not comparable.