Homelessness up 9% in King County since 2024, homeless authority reports

The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) published a new report revealing that homelessness continues to rise within the county.

The latest Point-In-Time count estimated that more than 18,000 people are experiencing homelessness on any given night. Approximately 64% are living unsheltered in places like cars, parks, or on the street.

That’s an increase of roughly 9% since 2024, though the growth rate has slowed. The count was conducted between Jan. 26 and Feb. 6, according to KCRHA.

KCRHA officials stated the number of people experiencing homelessness still outpaces those finding housing.

“While overall shelter capacity has remained relatively static in recent years, the continued growth in homelessness — combined with limited expansion in shelter and housing resources — has contributed to an increase in the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness,” KCRHA stated.

In comparison, according to The Seattle Times, California claimed a 2.8% decrease in homelessness in 2025 and a 6.8% drop in the number of homeless people outside of shelters.

The future of KCRHA remains a point of contention among county leadership after an audit revealed the agency failed to account for $8 million in missing funds. The authority has a budget of around $200 million, according to The Center Square.

What is a Point-In-Time count?

A Point-In-Time (PIT) count is an estimate of the number of people experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness on a single night in King County. The main count of people living unsheltered is conducted by approximately 600 volunteers spread across the county between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., assisted by paid “guides” who have experienced homelessness and whose knowledge can help locate people off the beaten path.

A separate count is conducted of homeless individuals who are sheltered: in emergency shelters, sanctioned encampments, “tiny home” villages, transitional housing, and other forms of temporary shelter.

This data is widely understood to be an undercount.

Flaws in the Point-In-Time count’s data

For years, the methodology for the Point-In-Time count has faced criticism for not providing accurate data, given that it relies on volunteers to hand-count the number of people they observe living unsheltered on a single night, and then calculate a rough estimate of people they believe they might have missed living in abandoned buildings. That was one of the driving factors behind the King County Regional Homeless Authority’s (RHA) decision to skip the count in 2022.

“Because of the methodology, the PIT is widely understood to be an undercount, which can be harmful in skewing the narrative and limiting the budget and resources dedicated to solutions,” KCRHA told MyNorthwest in 2023. “Because it relies on what volunteers see during a few hours in the early morning, in a neighborhood that may be unfamiliar to them, recorded on a paper tally sheet, at a time when there could be heavy rain or cold, there are many ways for data to be missed.”

King County did not have to conduct a Point-In-Time count in 2021 after being granted a waiver due to the ongoing pandemic, and opted not to conduct one in 2022 before resuming it in 2023.

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson unveils $8M homelessness prevention effort for 2027

Seattle is investing $8 million into homelessness in 2027 to help people stay in their homes before they fall into homelessness.

Included in Mayor Katie Wilson’s affordability agenda, the Seattle Human Services Department announced Wednesday a Request for Proposals (RFP) for homelessness prevention services, the Office of the Mayor announced.

Wilson noted that the RFP will make rental assistance easier to access and boost the likelihood that more residents will remain in their homes.

The funding will support rental assistance, eviction protection, legal services, and case management, and will establish a centralized application process to streamline residents’ requests for help and better connect them with support.

“When residents are able to remain in their homes and communities, we reduce the risk of homelessness before it occurs,” Wilson said. “This investment will promote housing stability and help Seattle residents remain in the neighborhoods they call home.”

Wilson noted that eviction filings have sharply risen since the COVID-19 pandemic and have now reached record highs in each of the past two years.

The mayor’s office wrote that rental assistance has proven to be a cost-efficient solution to preventing homelessness and reducing the need for intensive crisis services later on.

The RDP will direct funds toward people at immediate risk of losing their housing or people already facing eviction. One agency will be chosen to manage all client applications while Seattle prepares to create an online portal in 2027.

Wilson believes these strategies will support a “more coordinated and easier to access” homeless prevention framework that is expected to serve roughly 1,000 households per year.

Contributing: MyNorthwest staff

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