Nearly half of homeless adults had a job. There still aren't enough homes they can afford.
Homelessness isn't one bad choice. It's a missed paycheck in a market with too few affordable homes, a medical bill, a breakup, a release date. Getting out takes an ID, a deposit, and a landlord who says yes.
Updated October 2026. Every figure links to its source below.
The odds
people were homeless on one night in January 2025; 36% were sleeping outside1
were chronically homeless, the highest number ever counted1
affordable, available homes for every 100 of the lowest-income renter households2
of people leaving shelter, transitional housing, or rapid rehousing went to a permanent home in 2023, down from 41% in 20193
of homeless adults had a job in the year they were homeless4
working paper, 2010 Census data
What changes the odds
Once someone has a key, they mostly keep it: four in five people who move into a home are still housed two years later. Housing First works. The hard part is the gap between a shelter bed and a lease, and that's where help makes the difference.
people who leave homelessness for a home stay housed for two years3
18.7% returned within 24 months in 2023
of the time stably housed over two years with Housing First, against usual services5
Canada's At Home/Chez Soi study
of veterans who left HUD-VASH housing did not return to homeless services6
They need a deposit and first month's rent, a ride to the ID office, a phone that works, and someone who keeps calling until the lease is signed. RISEaid walks with people through it: they do the work, and we connect them with the resources to get there.
Need help yourself? Call or text 888-860-RISE. In an emergency call 911; for a mental health crisis call or text 988.
Questions people ask
How many people are homeless in the U.S.?
HUD counted 745,652 people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2025, down 3.3% from the 2024 record of 771,480. About 36% were unsheltered.
How many people return to homelessness?
Nationally, 18.7% of people who left homelessness for permanent housing returned within 24 months in fiscal 2023, according to HUD's system performance data. About 4 in 5 stayed housed.
Does Housing First work?
Yes. In Canada's At Home/Chez Soi randomized study, Housing First participants were stably housed 73% of the time over two years, against 32% with usual services.
Sources
Figures were read on each source in October 2026. Where data is older, preliminary, from one state, or from a small study, the figure says so.
- 1.U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 2025 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, Part 1
- 2.National Low Income Housing Coalition (2025). The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes
- 3.U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. National Summary of Homeless System Performance 2019–2023
- 4.Becker Friedman Institute, University of Chicago (Meyer et al., 2024, working paper). Homelessness and the Persistence of Deprivation: Income, Employment, and Safety Net Participation
- 5.J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab). Housing First policy review
- 6.U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (Montgomery & Cusack, 2017). HUD-VASH Exit Study: Final Report