National Homelessness Falls 3 Percent Yet Most States Get Worse, And One Policy Divide Explains Why

According to Just The News, the report arrives as homelessness remains a flashpoint in major Democrat-run cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C., where sprawling encampments and public disorder have become emblematic of failed urban policy. The report, released Friday, underscores that while the overall numbers have dipped, the problem remains acute and unevenly distributed across the country.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner argued that the findings expose the shortcomings of the dominant progressive policy model. The data is clear that the status quo of housing first has failed to meaningfully reduce homelessness, resulting in crisis levels of people living on the streets, he said.

June 01, 2026

Turner emphasized that the administration is steering federal policy back toward personal responsibility and long-term independence rather than permanent dependency. He said the agency is restoring its programs to "advance recovery and self-sufficiency and to ensure that taxpayer-funded benefits serve American families.

The report found 745,642 people were homeless in 2025, compared to roughly 770,000 in 2024, reflecting the 3% decrease. Yet an analysis by NOTUS noted that a majority of states still experienced rising homelessness, suggesting that local leadership and policy choices play a decisive role.

The data also indicate that fewer Americans are living on the street or in shelters amid a crackdown by officials in major cities, according to NOTUS, reinforcing the conservative argument that enforcement and accountability matter. The annual count, conducted on a single night each January, showed that in 2025 a total of 1,456,923 people were homeless or living in a taxpayer-funded or subsidized shelter, also according to NOTUS, highlighting both the scale of the crisis and the immense burden on taxpayers.