HUD reports 6.3% decline in U.S. homelessness, announces shift toward treatment-focused policies
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that homelessness nationwide declined 6.3% in 2026, with 698,425 people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January, according to the agency’s latest Point-in-Time count.
HUD described the decline as the largest decrease in homelessness on record and attributed the reduction to policies implemented under President Donald Trump’s administration, including stricter immigration enforcement and changes in how the federal government addresses homelessness.
The figures represent a decline from the level recorded when Trump took office in 2025, according to HUD. The agency said homelessness had previously increased 28% between 2022 and 2025.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner said the administration plans to move away from the Housing First approach, which prioritizes access to permanent housing, and toward a Treatment First model that places greater emphasis on addressing substance use disorders and other challenges.
“President Trump’s actions to secure the border, get criminal illegals off our streets, and restore safety to our communities drove a historic decrease in homelessness,” said Secretary Turner. “However, after a decade of failed Housing First policies, homelessness remains near a historic high. Clearly, there is more work to do. HUD is rejecting the addiction-fueled depravity seen from LA’s Skid Row to New York’s ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’ and moving to Treatment First to restore lives of self-sufficiency.”
The administration’s explanation for the decline reflects its policy position. The Point-in-Time count provides an estimate of homelessness on a single night but does not, by itself, establish which government policies caused changes in the homeless population.
HUD also linked previous increases in homelessness to immigration policies under former President Joe Biden, particularly in states such as New York, Illinois, California and Massachusetts. The agency did not provide state-by-state figures or supporting evidence for those claims in its announcement.
The policy shift follows a July 2025 executive order signed by Trump titled “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.”
According to HUD, the order directed federal efforts toward addressing substance abuse and public safety concerns associated with homelessness while moving away from the Housing First model.
In June 2026, Turner announced a competitive homelessness assistance funding initiative intended to support programs emphasizing measurable outcomes. HUD said the initiative attracted a record 3,700 new applications from organizations across the country.
In August, HUD released its “Best Practices Toolkit: Addressing Homelessness and Addiction through Treatment First” in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
The toolkit outlines the administration’s preferred approaches for connecting people experiencing homelessness with treatment and other support services.
The Point-in-Time count is conducted annually and provides a snapshot of sheltered and unsheltered homelessness across the United States. Because the count measures conditions on a single night, it does not represent the total number of people who experience homelessness throughout the year.
Despite the reported decline, HUD acknowledged that the nation’s homeless population remains near historically high levels.
