San Jose Homeless Drop 10% to 3,959 Unsheltered

San Jose officials said the city’s unsheltered homeless population fell 10% to 3,959 in the latest point-in-time count, a city-level decline that contrasted with a broader increase across Santa Clara County. Mayor Matt Mahan’s office released the city figures on July 14, 2025, saying the drop reflected added interim housing and shelter capacity. Santa Clara County’s 2025 point-in-time count, conducted on January 22 and 23, found 10,711 people experiencing homelessness countywide, up 8.2% from 2023. Alameda County, by contrast, reported a 3% overall decline in its 2024 count and an 11% drop in unsheltered homelessness. ### Where does the 3,959 figure come from? San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s office said the 3,959 figure came from the 2025 point-in-time count and marked the first time since at least 2019 that the city counted fewer than 4,000 people living unsheltered. The mayor’s office said San Jose’s unsheltered population had fallen nearly 23% from more than 5,100 in 2019 to fewer than 4,000 in 2025. The July 14, 2025 release tied that decline to “sustained investments in interim housing and other forms of managed shelter.” City Manager Jennifer Maguire said San Jose expected to open additional emergency interim housing sites and hotel leases in 2025. ### Why can San Jose improve while Santa Clara County rises? Santa Clara County’s Office of Supportive Housing said the 2025 point-in-time count was conducted on the mornings of January 22 and 23 and is the federally required snapshot used for funding allocations and national estimates. (sjmayormatt.com) The county’s final report said 10,711 people were counted, including 7,472 unsheltered people and 3,239 sheltered people, leaving 70% unsheltered and 30% sheltered countywide. Mahan’s office said San Jose’s sheltered population rose 160% from 980 people in 2019 to 2,544 in 2025. The same release said the city’s sheltered rate climbed from 16% in 2019 to nearly 40% in 2025, above Santa Clara County’s overall sheltered rate of 30% and California’s statewide rate of 34%. The mayor’s office also said Santa Clara County excluding San Jose had experienced an increase of more than 700 people living unsheltered compared with 2019. (osh.santaclaracounty.gov) That comparison came from the city, not the county’s report. ### What does Alameda County’s decline look like? Alameda County Health and the Alameda County Continuum of Care said on May 15, 2024 that overall homelessness fell 3% in the 2024 point-in-time count, while unsheltered homelessness dropped 11% from 2022. (sjmayormatt.com) A December 2024 release on the full report said it was the county’s first recorded decline since 2013. Alameda County’s health department says the point-in-time count includes people sleeping outdoors, in vehicles, tents and makeshift structures, as well as people in shelters, transitional housing and safe parking. EveryOne Home says the county’s final 2024 data release is now public. ### How much weight should readers put on point-in-time counts? (everyonehome.org) The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires communities to conduct annual sheltered counts and unsheltered counts every other year, according to HUD and Santa Clara County’s Office of Supportive Housing. Santa Clara County’s office says the point-in-time count is one source of information and should be combined with other data to give a more complete picture of homelessness. (health.alamedacountyca.gov) San Jose’s own dashboard says the city still estimates 5,477 people are unsheltered and remains short more than 3,000 shelter and interim housing units. The same city page says many sites rely on funding that must be strengthened for long-term operations. (hudexchange.info) ### What are officials watching next? San Jose’s July 2025 release said the city planned to bring more than 1,000 additional beds online by the end of calendar 2025. The city’s homelessness dashboard separately said nine new or expanded sites were expected by the end of 2025, bringing total capacity to about 1,840 beds and spaces. Alameda County’s next point-in-time count is scheduled for January 22, 2026, according to EveryOne Home and the county’s count portal. (sanjoseca.gov) Santa Clara County’s Office of Supportive Housing says point-in-time count reports remain a primary input for federal funding allocations, making the next round of local results consequential for both jurisdictions. (everyonehome.org) (sjmayormatt.com)