What Is the Estimated Number of Homeless People?

Because homelessness is often temporary, experts have a hard time estimating the number of homeless people at any given time. Still, recent studies by some of the top agencies in the U.S. and around the world have come up with approximate numbers that they believe are close enough to reality. Still, numbers seem to change daily due to the homeless moving in and out of temporary housing, moving in with relatives, or into shelters.

Identification

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimates that there are about one million people who are homeless in the U.S. at any given time. Of those, 23 percent are "permanent" homeless who have been living in the streets for a year or more and who don't have access to shelter on a regular basis. The rest are either "temporary" homeless who are either in the streets for a short period of time (six months or less) or are homeless on an off and on basis, such as those in transition between apartments or those living in shelters or long-term hotels.

Significance

Over one million children are homeless in the U.S. Most of them fall into the "temporary" category, and many are homeless as a result of their mothers fleeing abusive homes. Most homeless children live with at least one parent, and five percent live with both of them. An alarming 42 percent of homeless children are five years old or younger. The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimates that most homeless children live in either shelters or in transitional housing, with only a small percentage actually sleeping outside, in the streets.

Types

The largest percentage of homeless people are male (61 percent), white (51 percent) and not suffering from any chronic illness or substance abuse. In fact, despite the popular belief that the homeless are so because of alcohol and drug abuse, the truth is that the number one reason for homelessness is lack of affordable housing (according to the The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty). This is especially true in large cities, which account for 71 percent of the total number of homeless in the U.S.

Geography

Certain cities are more prone to cases of homelessness because of their high costs of living and lack of affordable housing. The National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates that certain states are also more likely to have homelessness problems because of the lack of resources available to help those in transition. Based on studies conducted in 2007, California, Florida and Colorado are at the top places in the number of homeless they hold, with California accounting for almost 30 percent of the total, with an estimated 171,000 homeless.

Expert Insight

The number of homeless people around the world varies widely among countries. For example, there's an estimated 150,000 homeless in Canada, but only 30,000 in Japan. The European Union as a whole has about 3 million homeless. A a whole, the United Nations estimates that there are about 500 million people living homeless in the world at any given time.

Resources

• National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty