County of Santa Clara Releases Preliminary Results of 2025 Point-in-Time Homeless Count

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. – The County of Santa Clara has released the preliminary results of the 2025 Point-in-Time (PIT) count of unhoused residents, which is one of many data sources that provides information about the unhoused population in Santa Clara County.  

The total number of people experiencing homelessness in Santa Clara County rose by 8.2% compared to the 2023 PIT count, going from 9,903 to 10,711 people.  The number of sheltered individuals rose about 30%, reflecting an increase in shelter capacity and higher utilization of available shelter beds throughout the county. The number of unsheltered individuals remained relatively flat, with an increase of 1%.  

The PIT count results are consistent with what the County and homelessness experts have observed in recent years: more people are entering homelessness than exiting homelessness in the region. Systemic factors such as the lack of affordable housing supply, wage gaps, and structural inequities all contribute to housing insecurity and homelessness in the Bay Area, including in Santa Clara County. These economic pressures have continued to increase in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Recognizing these conditions, the County has strengthened its response to the homelessness crisis, with direct funding of homelessness solutions reaching approximately $446 million in the 2024-25 fiscal year, which includes homelessness prevention, temporary housing and shelter, permanent supportive housing, and housing for individuals receiving behavioral health services or substance use treatment.   
 
Through these investments, the County and partners helped more than 8,000 people move from homelessness to housing between 2023 and 2025. Without these investments far more individuals would be experiencing homelessness today.    
 
“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,” said County Executive James R. Williams. “Effectively addressing poverty, inequality, and homelessness requires a systemic, comprehensive approach—one that necessitates deep collaboration and responsiveness at all levels of government. Our community must address the root cause of homelessness: a lack of affordable housing supply at all levels. The County will continue to do its part and work in close partnership with cities, community partners, and elected leaders to implement solutions that are responsive, effective, and move us towards greater systems-change.”   
 
The County of Santa Clara has a comprehensive and data-driven strategy for addressing homelessness known as the Community Plan to End Homelessness, which was developed in close partnership with cities, nonprofit organizations, and people with lived experience.   
 
The Community Plan adopts a multipronged approach that includes financial assistance to help prevent individuals and families from becoming homeless, temporary housing and shelter for those who are unhoused, and permanent housing programs that assist people with obtaining and maintaining stable housing either through a rental subsidy or a permanent supportive housing unit.  
  
The latest Community Plan progress report, covering Jan. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2024, showed the following results:   
 
•    33,193 people received homelessness prevention assistance, including COVID-related financial assistance  
•    More than 23,000 people were supported in temporary housing and shelter  
•    17,485 people obtained stable housing  
  
Increasing available temporary housing beds has been a key focus of the County’s strategy. Since 2023, the County has added 235 new shelter beds, bringing the total available temporary housing bed count in Santa Clara County to 3,697. Additional funding of the Countywide Shelter system allows us to operate the shelters 24/7 and increase access to basic needs services. The County continues to expand temporary housing options, too, and is currently working in partnership with the City of Palo Alto on a new 135-bed shelter, scheduled to open later in 2025.    
 
Meanwhile, more temporary housing and shelter beds are being utilized across the county, as evidenced by a marked utilization rate increase from 74% to 88% since 2023. The higher use of beds is, in part, a result of the County’s Here4You hotline, which connects people experiencing homelessness to shelters and other resources. The hotline has expanded its staffing and hours of operation in recent years while streamlining and improving its performance.   
 
Ultimately, solving the homelessness crisis is not possible without increasing the supply of affordable housing. While cities control land use in their jurisdictions, the County has stepped up to address homelessness and housing affordability in Silicon Valley by committing more than $1 billion to the development of permanent supportive and affordable housing since 2016.   
 
The County is in the ninth year of implementing the $950 million Measure A Affordable Housing Bond, approved by county voters in 2016, and is on track to exceed its goal of creating 4,800 new affordable housing units by roughly 1,000 units.   
 
In May, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved $28.7 million in funding for four new multifamily affordable housing projects and one affordable homeownership development, all in San Jose, that will add 612 units to the supply of affordable rental and ownership housing.  
 
“We are committed to addressing the homelessness crisis head-on,” said Deputy County Executive Consuelo Hernandez. “The PIT count is just a snapshot, so it is imprecise, but it is one of many tools that help us better understand the state of homelessness in our community. We will continue to pursue a collaborative and data-driven approach in partnership with cities, community-based organizations, developers, and residents so that we can end homelessness in Santa Clara County.”  
 
The PIT count is conducted on behalf of the Santa Clara County Continuum of Care (CoC), a group of stakeholders that includes the County, the City of San José, and the other 14 cities in Santa Clara County. The County is the lead agency and administrator of the CoC.  
 
The CoC employed a new vendor, Simtech Solutions, to conduct the 2025 survey, which brought a new approach to the PIT count, using new technology and placing a heavier emphasis on surveys, including interviewing people experiencing homelessness to glean more detailed information about the homeless population within Santa Clara County.   
 
The PIT count is just one source of information about the homeless population. The County maintains a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) that compiles comprehensive data regarding the clients who use the programs and services designed to help people who are experiencing homelessness. Over 500 volunteers, including people with lived experience, elected officials, service providers, and community members participated in the count. Close partnerships with all 15 jurisdictions in the County were critical to our efforts to conduct a comprehensive count.  
 
The County expects to release the final results of the PIT count, including detailed information on subpopulations and demographics, later this summer.   
 
For more information on the Point-in-Time count, visit the County’s PIT count webpage.  


ABOUT THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA   
The County of Santa Clara government serves a diverse, multicultural population of 1.9 million residents in Santa Clara County, Calif., making it more populous than 14 states in the United States. The County provides essential services to its residents, including public health protection, environmental stewardship, medical services through the County of Santa Clara Health System, child and adult protection services, homelessness prevention and solutions, roads, park services, libraries, emergency response to disasters, protection of minority communities and those under threat, access to a fair criminal justice system, and many other public benefits.  

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