Santa Clara County’s total homeless population rose by 8.2 percent to a record high of 10,711 people, according to early results from the county’s latest point-in-time count.
The count used data taken in one night in January 2025, and it serves as the main data source to determine federal funding and homelessness estimates within the county.
The total number of people experiencing homelessness rose from 9,903 in 2023 to more than 10,000 now, consistent with expert observations that “more people are entering homelessness than exiting homelessness in the region,” the report states.
Among the homeless population, the number of sheltered individuals increased by 30 percent, which the county attributes to better use of available shelter beds and more shelter capacity overall.
“Even as we face extraordinary challenges and threats to critical federal and state funding for safety-net services, the County continues to make significant investments in both shelter capacity and permanent housing to combat homelessness in our community,” County Executive James R. Williams stated in a statement.
The investments include approximately $446 million in funding to address homelessness in the 2024–2025 fiscal year. With this funding, the county was able to move more than 8,000 homeless individuals into housing from 2023 to 2025.
Hellbound and Down 