Portland State releases new 2025 statewide homelessness report

Portland State University's Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative (HRAC) has released its 2025 statewide homelessness report, offering a comprehensive look at the state of homelessness in Oregon. The report reveals a complex picture: While Oregon has made historic gains in shelter capacity - increasing the number of people sheltered by nearly 50% - the total number of people experiencing homelessness continues to rise due to economic insecurity and a shortage of affordable housing.

Researchers note that this increase is a result of both actual growth in homelessness, expanded shelter capacity and improved data quality. Additionally, data improvements allowed Oregon's most populous county, Multnomah, to tap into previously unused data sources that significantly increased its unsheltered count.

The report details findings from the 2025 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, a census of people experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness on a single night in January. The federal government requires the PIT count as a condition of funding to agencies and providers managing homelessness services known as Continuums of Care (CoCs), of which Oregon has eight. While the PIT count isn't a complete census of homelessness in the state, it can offer valuable insights.

"Aggregating the PIT numbers for the state helps policy makers, providers and advocates have a better understanding of what is happening across our Oregon communities," said Marisa Zapata, director of PSU's HRAC. "Traditionally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would publish all PIT data so that people could do their own aggregation. This year, we are uncertain if HUD will produce that data, making Oregon one of the few states to have this important information."

For the purposes of the PIT count, "sheltered" is defined as people living in an emergency shelter or transitional housing and "unsheltered" is defined as a space not intended for human habitation like a sidewalk or vehicle. The report incorporates data from the PIT count, as well as Housing Inventory Count (HIC) data on shelter and housing bed totals for people experiencing or exiting homelessness and Department of Education data on student homelessness to provide a more holistic view of the crisis.

"High rents and economic pressure are continuing to drive these numbers up, but we also have an expanded ability to bring people inside," Zapata said. "We are getting better at the immediate response, but we still have work to do implementing long-term strategies. We need to stop new entries into homelessness just as aggressively as we work to shelter those already on the street."

Shelter Growth vs. Total Need

The 2025 data illustrates a significant shift in Oregon's response infrastructure. Between January 2023 and January 2025, the state added 3,094 year-round shelter beds, increasing total capacity by 39%. This expansion enabled a 49% increase in sheltered homelessness, meaning 3,501 more individuals were indoors and connected to services than in 2023.

The report also finds that despite these gains, the need continues to outpace available resources. The 2025 PIT Count recorded 27,119 peopleexperiencing homelessness across Oregon.

Of those counted, 16,512 people (60.9%) remained unsheltered, living in spaces not intended for human habitation, such as sidewalks or vehicles.

"Our collective efforts have increased the number of people who have access to shelter by nearly 50%," said Megan Bolton, assistant director of research at Oregon Housing and Community Services. "However, we are continuing to see the number of people experiencing homelessness increase due to multiple factors, including economic stressors and affordable housing shortages. While we've made strides to increase shelter capacity, our work continues to ensure that people in Oregon have a warm and safe place to sleep at night."

Regional and Student Data

The report highlights disparities across the state. While Multnomah, Lane and Marion counties had the largest total counts of people experiencing homelessness, Clatsop, Crook and Multnomah counties had the highest rates of homelessness per 1,000 residents.

Notably, Yamhill County reported more shelter beds than people in its PIT count for the first time, demonstrating an ability to provide shelter for those recorded on the night of the count.

The report also analyzed K-12 data, finding that 21,122 studentsacross Oregon were reported as experiencing some form of homelessness in the 2024-25 school year. This represents 4% of all students and marks a slight reduction from the previous year following consecutive years of increases.

Racial Disparities in Homelessness

Consistent with previous years, the 2025 PIT Count data reveals sharp disparities for communities of color. Oregonians who identify as American Indian, Alaska Native, or Indigenous experienced homelessness at a rate 6.92 times higher than their proportion of the state population. This group also faced the highest rate of unsheltered homelessness, at 7.21 times higher than their share of the population. Similarly, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander Oregonians experienced homelessness at a rate 5.47 times higher than their proportion of the population, highlighting the continued need for equity-focused housing solutions.

By the Numbers: The 2025 Report

• 27,119:Total people experiencing homelessness counted in Oregon (Jan. 2025).
• 10,607:People sheltered on the night of the count (a 49.3% increase from 2023).
• 11,047:Total year-round shelter beds available in Oregon (a 39% increase from 2023).
• 16,512:People experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
• 21,542:Estimated number of people experiencing "doubled-up" homelessness (living with others by necessity rather than choice).