Nevada Sees Slight Drop in Homelessness but Still Ranks High

At the beginning of 2025, approximately 746,000 people were counted as experiencing homelessness during a federal point-in-time count that tracks homeless people across America. That marked a 3.3% decline from the previous year and the first year-over-year drop since 2016. The national homelessness rate stood at 21.8 people per 10,000 residents.

Nevada’s rate was about 30 per 10,000 residents, placing it above the national average. The state identified roughly 9,900 people experiencing homelessness, a modest decline from just over 10,100 the year before. The elevated ranking reflects ongoing pressures in major urban centers such as Las Vegas and Reno, where housing costs and demand for services remain significant.

California recorded the largest total number of people experiencing homelessness at roughly 182,000. New York had the highest homelessness rate at 72.8 people per 10,000 residents. Mississippi reported the nation’s lowest homelessness rate at 4.2 per 10,000 residents.

More than a quarter of all people experiencing homelessness nationwide were concentrated in just two cities: New York City with 125,683 and Los Angeles with 67,777.

Shelter rates varied widely. In New York City, 96.3% of those counted were sheltered, while only 34.5% were in Los Angeles. California dominated the list of major cities with the highest shares of unsheltered homelessness. Long Beach led at 71.4%, followed by San Jose/Santa Clara at 69.8%, Oakland/Berkeley at 68.5%, Los Angeles at 65.5%, Fresno at 62.0%, San Diego at 57.7%, and Sacramento at 56.4%. By contrast, cities with the highest sheltered rates—mostly in colder climates—exceeded 90%, including Boston at 97.6%, New York City at 96.3%, Milwaukee at 94.6%, Memphis at 93.3%, and Baltimore at 90.7%.

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