PSU Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative releases the 2025 Tri-County Point in Time Count

Portland State University's Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative released the results of the second ever tri-county region's fully integrated Point in Time Count (PITC) of homelessness in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties, finding that across all three counties, a total of 12,034 people experienced homelessness on January 22, 2025, the date of the count.

The 12,034 people experiencing homelessness made up 10,789 households, of which 97% were adult-only households.

The three counties conducted their PITC together for the first time in 2023 as part of a larger effort to better coordinate services and collaborate regionally with shared information, guided by Metro's Supportive Housing Services Measure. The 2025 count took place on Wednesday, January 22, 2025 and counted individuals who were experiencing homelessness that night.

The 2025 PITC found a 61% increase from 2023 for individuals experiencing homelessness, driven in part by a new data set being included for Multnomah County.

"The PITC provides an important snapshot of the people experiencing homelessness in our community," said Marisa Zapata, director of the PSU Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative and associate professor in the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning. "The data and associated trends help us confirm what people experiencing homelessness, advocates, and providers tell us - homelessness is increasing, and people of color continue to experience homelessness disproportionately."

The PITC is required by the federal government and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development stipulates that the count take place during the last ten days of January. While the outcome of the count does not directly affect funding levels, conducting an accurate tally helps ensure the region remains eligible for federal funding for housing and homelessness services. The street count survey is conducted by outreach workers and volunteers and the PITC efforts are coordinated by the PSU Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative.

The number of people experiencing homelessness increased in each county since the 2023 PITC. There are multiple explanations for why this could be the case. Counties have added shelter beds while also developing higher quality administrative data, and conducting more outreach to people experiencing homelessness. There has also been an increase in eviction filings since 2023 and a continued insufficient supply of affordable units.

Key findings of the report include:

• People sleeping in shelters across all three counties totaled 4,525, or 38% of the total homeless population. The remaining 7,509 people counted slept unsheltered and/or were gathered from supplemental data.
• From 2023 to 2025, the number of people who identify as BIPOC who are experiencing homelessness increased at a faster rate than the number of white people experiencing homelessness. People who identify as BIPOC who are experiencing homelessness almost doubled compared to a two-thirds increase for people who are white.
• More than half of PITC respondents (59%) identified as men (boys, if children); about 37% identified as women (girls, if children) in 2025. People who identified as gender expansive - those who indicated their gender was culturally specific, non-binary, gender questioning, transgender, a different gender identity, and/or more than one gender - made up just over 4% of the population experiencing homelessness in 2025.
• Out of the 1,785 people who answered the street count survey question about where they last lived housed, 73% lived in housing in the tri-county region before becoming homeless. That share increases to 83% when including the rest of Oregon, and Washington State's Clark County. A total of 298 people were last housed outside of Oregon or Clark County. The most selected reason that people moved to the tri-county area without housing (34%), was to reunite with their families and friends.

Local data sets present learnings for the region.

• Washington County homeless count increased by 22%. The increase consisted entirely of people counted in shelter beds, reflecting, in part, Washington County's shelter investment since the 2023 PITC. The unsheltered count held steady.
• Multnomah County's homeless individual count increased by 67% over the 2023 count. This can be explained in part by an additional data source used by Multnomah County for the 2025 count. The number of people in shelter and transitional housing increased by 54%, which mirrors an expansion of shelter beds in Multnomah County.
• In Clackamas County the number of people experiencing homelessness during the 2025 count increased by 168 individuals, or 39%, from the 2023 Point in Time Count. Clackamas County expanded their outreach capacity, and other homeless system response activities.

While these county responses offer additional insight into how new investments in homeless response are bolstering the system. However, other indicators demonstrate that more people are experiencing homelessness than in 2023. For instance, eviction filings grew between 2023 and 2024. Washington County saw a 63% increase in eviction filings and Multnomah experienced a 33% increase. Clackamas County filed 2,038 eviction cases in 2024.

View the full report: https://www.pdx.edu/homelessness/2025-portland-tri-county-point-time-count