Homelessness in D.C. and Virginia rose by 4.4% and 5%, respectively, in 2025, according to this year’s Point-in-Time (PIT) Count results. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Department of Human Services released the results for the 2026 PIT Count on May 12.
This year, icy conditions prevented the District and some counties in Maryland and Virginia from conducting the usual canvassing of unsheltered residents. Instead, the unsheltered count relied on data collected by outreach groups. People staying in shelters were counted as usual.
The rate of homelessness across the Washington region remained relatively steady, increasing slightly by 1.3%, according to a report from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), released May 13. There are 9,790 people experiencing homelessness in the region — 131 more than recorded in the 2025 count. 1,230 people, 13% of this population, are unsheltered. Another 28,899 formerly homeless individuals in the region are in Permanent Supportive Housing, Rapid Rehousing, and other forms of supportive housing.
The PIT Count is often considered to be an undercount as it aims to tally a region’s overall homeless population in a singular night, not the course of a year. Factors such as weather, timing, and location can affect the accuracy of these estimates, and the count does not capture people staying with family, friends, or in hotels with no permanent place to live…