California reduced its official homeless count in 2025 after years of increases. Now, preliminary data for 2026 shows many places in the state are continuing to make progress.
Counties up and down the state are reporting that their homeless populations dropped this year, citing early results of the point-in-time count conducted in January. Some of the drops were significant. San Joaquin County cut its total unhoused population by nearly a third compared to 2024 and nearly halved the number of people sleeping on the street without shelter. Others were more modest, such as San Francisco’s 4% drop.
Of the 28 counties or continuums of care (which group smaller counties together into single counts) that released 2026 data, more than half reported a decline in homelessness. Eight others did not conduct a point-in-time count this year, while seven had not publicly released their results.
Officials in counties where the homeless count dropped credit their progress to…..
