HUD Reports Largest Single-Year Drop in Homelessness Since Trump Took Office

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that homelessness declined 6.3% in the past year, according to the 2026 Point-in-Time count released by the agency. The count found 698,425 individuals homeless on a single night in January 2026, marking what HUD describes as the largest year-over-year decrease on record.

HUD Secretary Scott Turner attributed the decline to the Trump administration's border security policies and a Supreme Court ruling that affirmed local governments' authority to restrict encampments. The agency is shifting away from the "Housing First" approach implemented under the Biden administration, which HUD says correlated with a 28% increase in homelessness from 2022 to 2025, toward what it calls "Treatment First" policies that prioritize addressing addiction alongside housing assistance.

In July 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing HUD to incorporate substance abuse treatment into homelessness programs as part of a broader public safety initiative. HUD received a record 3,700 applications for competitive homelessness funding announced in June and rolled out a "Best Practices Toolkit" on treating homelessness and addiction in August in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Despite the reported decline, HUD notes that homelessness remains near historic highs overall and that significant work remains to address the issue nationwide.