San Jose Homeless Drop 10% Amid Regional Gains

Santa Clara County released preliminary results from its 2025 Point-in-Time homeless count on June 20, 2025, reporting 10,711 people experiencing homelessness countywide after volunteers and outreach workers counted people on January 22 and 23. The county said that was an 8.2% increase from 2023, even as San Jose posted a decline in the number of people living unsheltered within city limits. Alameda County, which released its full 2024 count report in December, reported a broader decline across its system. Officials in both counties tied the gains to shelter and housing investments and said state and federal funding threats could put that progress at risk. ### How can San Jose show improvement if Santa Clara County went up overall? Santa Clara County said the 2025 count found 10,711 people experiencing homelessness, up from 9,903 in 2023. The county said sheltered homelessness rose about 30%, while the number of unsheltered people countywide was up 1%, a pattern it said reflected added shelter capacity and higher use of available beds. (news.santaclaracounty.gov) San Jose, the county's largest city, recorded 3,959 unsheltered residents in the 2025 count, down 10% from 2023, according to local reporting that cited the city count results. That means the city reduced the number of people sleeping outside even as the county as a whole added people in shelters and posted a higher total homeless population. ### What do the Point-in-Time counts actually measure? (news.santaclaracounty.gov) The County of Santa Clara says the Point-in-Time count is a one-night census of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness conducted in January. The county says the data is used for federal funding allocations and national estimates and is one of several tools officials use to track the local homeless population. (sanjosespotlight.com) Alameda County describes its count the same way: a federally required snapshot that includes people sleeping outdoors, in vehicles, tents and makeshift structures, as well as people in shelters, transitional housing and safe parking programs. Because the counts are snapshots, officials generally pair them with shelter, service and housing-placement data when describing longer-term trends. (osh.santaclaracounty.gov) ### What changed in Alameda County? Alameda County Health's Housing and Homelessness Services said on December 11, 2024 that the county's full 2024 Point-in-Time report showed overall homelessness down 3% from 2022 and unsheltered homelessness down 11%. The county said that was its first recorded drop in overall homelessness since 2013. (health.alamedacountyca.gov) The 2024 Alameda County infographic put the totals at 9,450 people overall, including 6,343 unsheltered and 3,107 sheltered. The same document showed 9,747 people overall in 2022, with 7,135 unsheltered and 2,612 sheltered, indicating that the decline in people living outside came alongside a rise in the number of people in shelter. (homelessness.acgov.org) ### What are local officials saying drove the changes? James R. Williams, Santa Clara County's executive, said the county was making "significant investments in both shelter capacity and permanent housing" even as it faced threats to state and federal safety-net funding. The county said direct funding for homelessness solutions reached about $446 million in fiscal 2024-25 and that more than 8,000 people moved from homelessness to housing between 2023 and 2025. (homelessness.acgov.org) Jonathan Russell, director of Alameda County Health Housing and Homelessness Services, said county investments were "starting to have noticeably positive effects." Alameda County also said shelter access rose 19% countywide in the 2024 count, which it said supported the view that interim and supportive housing investments were moving more people off the streets. (news.santaclaracounty.gov) ### Why are officials warning that progress could be fragile? Santa Clara County said in June 2025 that more people were entering homelessness than exiting homelessness in the region. The county tied that pressure to the lack of affordable housing supply, wage gaps and structural inequities, and Williams said threats to federal and state funding could affect the safety-net response. (homelessness.acgov.org) Alameda County made a similar case in December, saying the detailed report would guide where future investments should go. Nate Miley, president of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, said the county would continue pursuing housing and supportive services and said coordination with city partners was needed to sustain results. (news.santaclaracounty.gov) September 29, 2025 is the latest dated update on Santa Clara County's 2025 Point-in-Time count page, where the county said it corrected two charts without changing the overall totals. Alameda County's next major public benchmark will be its next federally required Point-in-Time count release, following the full 2024 report issued on December 11, 2024. (osh.santaclaracounty.gov) (homelessness.acgov.org)