SF Point-in-Time Count Finds Overall Homelessness Down 4% in 2026

San Francisco's 2026 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count report, presented Thursday by the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) to the Homelessness Oversight Commission, found that overall homelessness in the city declined by 4% and unsheltered homelessness dropped 22% to 3,400 people—down from 4,354 in 2024—while larger household sizes drove a 27% increase in unhoused children from 618 to 786, according to San Francisco Examiner staff writer Natalia Gurevich.

Conducted every 2 years in January under U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) mandates, the 2026 tally reported that 57% of San Francisco's unhoused population was staying in shelters, while 190 of the 786 children counted were unsheltered.

"These results reflect the City's continued investments in expanding shelter capacity and helping people move off the streets," HSH spokesperson Deborah Bouck said in a statement shared Friday.

Household Size Growth and First-Time Homelessness Trends

According to HSH's analysis, the rise in unhoused children since 2024 was driven primarily by larger family sizes rather than a proportional surge in total households:

• Family Households vs. Family Members: Over the past 2 years, the number of family households experiencing homelessness rose 15%, from 405 in 2024 to 465 in 2026. Over the same period, the total number of family members living inside those households increased 34%, from 1,103 to 1,474.
• Placement Bottlenecks for Larger Families: Megan Rohrer, policy director at Compass Family Services, noted that shelter placement becomes significantly more difficult for a household with 5 or more children. Among adults in unhoused family households, 64% reported experiencing chronic homelessness, while chronic homelessness across all demographics rose 17% from 2024.
• First-Time Homelessness: Amid elevated Bay Area rental costs, the share of respondents experiencing homelessness for the first time rose to 37% in 2026, up from 22% in 2024. In September, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced legislative proposals to expand tenant legal protections and cap rent increases.

Morning Tally Methodology and 27 Family Resource Centers

The January 2026 count shifted its field survey window from nighttime to morning hours, a change that former Homelessness Oversight Commission member Christin Evans and service providers noted can affect how mobile families are counted as they prepare for child-care drop-off starting at 7 a.m.

To improve survey response accuracy, HSH partnered with nonprofit providers including Compass Family Services to text clients on the family-shelter waitlist in advance of telephone survey calls. Although 2027 is not a federally mandated PIT Count year, Rohrer said Compass plans to coordinate data collection across San Francisco's 27 family resource centers throughout 2027 in preparation for the January 2028 count.