San Francisco Records Lowest Unsheltered Homeless Count as Methodology Shifts Spark Debate

Mayor Daniel Lurie announced that the 2026 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, taken Jan. 29, recorded 3,400 unsheltered individuals—22 % fewer than 2024 and the lowest level since 2011. Overall homelessness fell to 7,973, a 4 % drop.

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Lurie’s 16-month tenure has focused on treatment-focused shelter beds, transitional housing, crisis-center referrals, and a large-vehicle permit program that moved 132 households from RVs into housing. The city added a net 408 shelter beds, raising the sheltered share to 57 % and leaving a 500-person waitlist. The PIT count shows unsheltered homelessness at 3,400 (-22 %), total homeless 7,973 (-4 %), tents down 85 % to 155, large vehicles 435 (259 permitted), family homelessness up 15 % to 465 families, youth (18-24) homelessness down 54 %, and veteran homelessness down 44 %.

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Lurie said the count proves the city is “transforming its work around homelessness, drugs, and behavioral health.” Homelessness chief Kunal Modi linked the rise in family homelessness to higher rent, gas and grocery costs, urging a “holistic” approach that includes affordable-housing zoning and benefits enrollment. Outgoing HSH Executive Director Shireen McSpadden said the decline “indicates that our strategies are working” and pledged continued effort to keep streets safe.

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Coalition on Homelessness organizer Lukas Illa warned that the 85 % drop in tents “just speaks to the fact we have taken away those folks’ survival gear.” Jennifer Friedenbach added that “thousands of unhoused” remain and that focusing on visible metrics “doesn’t account for that.” Advocates also note the PIT count’s shift from a nighttime visual survey to an early-morning interview-based approach, arguing it prevents an “apples-to-apples” comparison with prior years.

San Francisco Reports Lowest Homelessness Levels Since 2011

• “Unsheltered homelessness in San Francisco is now at its lowest level in 15 years.” — Daniel Lurie, Mayor

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• “It’s everything from the availability of affordable housing to the cost of everyday living, whether it’s gas or groceries or rising rents,” — Kunal Modi, Homelessness Chief

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• “The decline in observed tents just speaks to the fact we have taken away those folks’ survival gear.” — Lukas Illa, Coalition on Homelessness Organizer

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• “there’s still thousands of unhoused in San Francisco, and focusing on metrics like tents and encampments doesn’t account for that.” — Jennifer Friedenbach, Coalition on Homelessness

San Francisco Reports Lowest Homelessness Levels Since 2011

The city will release the full PIT report this summer, finalize its RV-permit program, and aim to house every family with a permitted vehicle by year-end. Officials also plan to expand treatment-focused shelter capacity while addressing the rising cost of living that drives family homelessness.

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