Salem, Oregon – Oregon’s latest homelessness figures are offering a rare sign of movement in a crisis that has shaped streets, budgets and public debate across the state for years.
A new analysis of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates finds that unsheltered homelessness fell 6.4 percent in Oregon counties where year-to-year counts can be fairly compared. The review focused on 35 counties where data collection and reporting methods did not substantially change between 2024 and 2025.
“For too long, Oregonians watched homelessness grow and wondered whether things could change. This data shows we are beginning to turn the tide,” Governor Tina Kotek said.
“We still have more work ahead, but communities across Oregon are proving that sustained investment, local leadership, and coordinated action can reduce unsheltered homelessness and help people get the support they need. We must keep going.”
The statewide HUD dataset includes Multnomah County, but officials and researchers say its numbers should be read with care. The county recently shifted its Point-in-Time count to a by-name list, known as BNL, which tracks each individual more directly. That change improves the quality of the count, but it also makes direct comparisons with past years unreliable.
“Multnomah County’s inclusion of their BNL data improves the quality of their HUD reported unsheltered count,” Dr. Marisa Zapata, Associate Professor of Land-Use Planning at Portland State University and Director of PSU’s Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative, said. “The BNL dataset also results in the appearance of significant growth in the county’s unsheltered count when compared to previous years. Analyzing an outlier separately is warranted when the datasets are not apple to apple comparisons.”
Outside that outlier, the numbers show broad improvement. In comparable counties, unsheltered homeless veterans declined 7 percent. Chronically homeless individuals dropped 7.2 percent. Unsheltered homeless individuals declined 8.1 percent. The steepest reductions came among people facing chronic homelessness while living unsheltered, including an 18.2 percent drop among people in families and a 20.9 percent decline among individuals.
In Jackson County, local leaders pointed to cooperation as the engine behind the progress.
“Jackson County is seeing real, measurable progress in reducing unsheltered homelessness, and that progress is the result of strong partnerships. This shared commitment is helping us reach people more effectively and ensuring more Oregonians have access to safe, stable housing. Addressing unsheltered homelessness requires all of us, and together we are making meaningful progress,” said Kellie Battaglia, Executive Director for ACCESS.
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Between January 2023 and September 2025, Governor Kotek’s emergency actions produced 6,286 new and maintained shelter beds, helped rehouse 5,539 people from unsheltered homelessness, and provided prevention assistance to 25,942 households.
The work is far from finished. But the latest comparable counts suggest Oregon’s response is no longer only measuring the scale of the problem. It is beginning to show where coordinated action is making a visible dent.
