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People experiencing homelessness in Idaho

2,697

People experiencing homelessness in Idaho on one night in January, 2025

−1.9% since 2024 (2,750); +16.5% since 2020 (2,315); +37.2% since 2015 (1,966)

Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Point-in-Time Counts of Homelessness. Data period 2025. Published .

People counted as homeless on a single night in late January: in emergency shelter, transitional housing or a Safe Haven, or sleeping in a place not meant for habitation.

Change and comparison

From 2007 (1,749) to 2025 (2,697), the change was +54.2%.

The series high is 2,750 in 2024 and the low is 1,464 in 2008.

Among 50 states and the District of Columbia, Idaho ranked 23rd highest (tied with Missouri) in 2025 on people experiencing homelessness per 1,000 residents from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The District of Columbia was highest at 7.41 per 1,000 and Mississippi lowest at 0.42 per 1,000.

Among Idaho and its 6 neighboring states, Idaho ranks 5th highest; Montana is next above at 1.98 per 1,000 and Utah next below at 1.3 per 1,000.

Idaho's figure is 0.4% of the national figure of 745,652.

Historical data

People experiencing homelessness in Idaho, 2007 to 2025People experiencing homelessness in Idaho, 2007 to 2025. Idaho: 1,749 in 2007, 2,697 in 2025.01,0002,0003,00020102020IdahoPeoplePeople experiencing homelessness in Idaho, 2007 to 2025People experiencing homelessness in Idaho, 2007 to 2025. Idaho: 1,749 in 2007, 2,697 in 2025.01,0002,0003,0002010201520202025IdahoPeoplePeople experiencing homelessness in Idaho, 2007 to 2025People experiencing homelessness in Idaho, 2007 to 2025. Idaho: 1,749 in 2007, 2,697 in 2025.01,0002,0003,0002010201520202025IdahoPeople

Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Point-in-Time Counts of Homelessness. Published .

Data table (18 rows)
PeriodIdaho (people)
20071,749
20081,464
20091,939
20102,346
20112,199
20121,968
20131,781
20142,104
20151,966
20162,247
20172,037
20182,012
20192,315
20202,315
20221,998
20232,298
20242,750
20252,697

Compared with other states

Every state is compared on people experiencing homelessness per 1,000 residents from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: People counted as homeless on one night in January in HUD's point-in-time count, divided by the Census Bureau's July 1 population estimate for the same year, times 1,000.

Per 1,000

  1. District of Columbia7.41
  2. New York7.28
  3. Oregon6.37
  4. Washington3.96
  5. Nevada3.02
  6. United States2.18
  7. Montana1.98
  8. Idaho1.33
  9. Utah1.30
  10. Wyoming0.91
  11. Louisiana0.80
  12. South Carolina0.79
  13. Mississippi0.42

Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, People experiencing homelessness per 1,000 residents (computed by Understand Idaho). Data period 2025. Published .

An excerpt; the full table is below.

State2025
1. District of Columbia7.41
2. New York7.28
3. Oregon6.37
4. Vermont5.25
5. Hawaii4.77
6. California4.62
7. Massachusetts3.96
8. Washington3.96
9. Alaska3.60
10. Nevada3.02
Data table (52 rows)
State2025
1. District of Columbia7.41
2. New York7.28
3. Oregon6.37
4. Vermont5.25
5. Hawaii4.77
6. California4.62
7. Massachusetts3.96
8. Washington3.96
9. Alaska3.60
10. Nevada3.02
11. Colorado2.78
12. New Mexico2.20
United States2.18
13. Rhode Island2.13
14. Arizona2.00
15. Montana1.98
16. Maine1.71
17. New Hampshire1.70
18. South Dakota1.55
19. Delaware1.48
20. Minnesota1.44
21. New Jersey1.44
22. North Carolina1.39
23. Idaho1.33
24. Missouri1.33
25. Nebraska1.32
26. Utah1.30
27. Kentucky1.26
28. Oklahoma1.25
29. Tennessee1.21
30. Florida1.19
31. Illinois1.15
32. Maryland1.14
33. Pennsylvania1.14
34. Georgia1.09
35. West Virginia1.09
36. North Dakota1.08
37. Ohio1.02
38. Connecticut1.01
39. Michigan1.00
40. Indiana0.96
41. Wyoming0.91
42. Kansas0.89
43. Texas0.88
44. Wisconsin0.88
45. Arkansas0.87
46. Iowa0.87
47. Virginia0.82
48. Alabama0.80
49. Louisiana0.80
50. South Carolina0.79
51. Mississippi0.42

Where people stayed that night

The January count by where people were found: emergency shelter, transitional housing, a Safe Haven (low-barrier housing for people with severe mental illness), or unsheltered.

People

  1. Unsheltered1,348
  2. Emergency shelter979
  3. Transitional housing370
  4. Safe Haven0

Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Point-in-Time Counts of Homelessness. Data period 2025. Published .

Data table (4 rows)
Where people stayed that night2025 (people)
Unsheltered1,348
Emergency shelter979
Transitional housing370
Safe Haven0

Where people stayed that night over time

Where people stayed that night over timeWhere people stayed that night over time. 4 series. Unsheltered: 624 in 2007, 1,348 in 2025.05001,0001,50020102020UnshelteredEmergencyshelterSafe HavenPeopleWhere people stayed that night over timeWhere people stayed that night over time. 4 series. Unsheltered: 624 in 2007, 1,348 in 2025.05001,0001,5002010201520202025UnshelteredEmergencyshelterTransitionalhousingSafe HavenPeopleWhere people stayed that night over timeWhere people stayed that night over time. 4 series. Unsheltered: 624 in 2007, 1,348 in 2025.05001,0001,5002010201520202025UnshelteredEmergencyshelterTransitionalhousingSafe HavenPeople

Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Point-in-Time Counts of Homelessness. Published .

By region: Boise and Ada County, and the rest of Idaho

Idaho's January count by Continuum of Care, the local body that runs the count and HUD's homeless assistance grants: Boise/Ada County, and the Idaho Balance of State, which covers every other county.

People

  1. Idaho Balance of State CoC1,925
  2. Boise/Ada County CoC772

Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Point-in-Time Counts of Homelessness. Data period 2025. Published .

Data table (2 rows)
By region: Boise and Ada County, and the rest of Idaho2025 (people)
Idaho Balance of State CoC1,925
Boise/Ada County CoC772

By region: Boise and Ada County, and the rest of Idaho over time

By region: Boise and Ada County, and the rest of Idaho over timeBy region: Boise and Ada County, and the rest of Idaho over time. 2 series. Idaho Balance of State CoC: 1,168 in 2007, 1,925 in 2025.05001,0001,5002,00020102020IdahoBalance ofState CoCBoise/AdaCounty CoCPeopleBy region: Boise and Ada County, and the rest of Idaho over timeBy region: Boise and Ada County, and the rest of Idaho over time. 2 series. Idaho Balance of State CoC: 1,168 in 2007, 1,925 in 2025.05001,0001,5002,0002010201520202025Idaho Balanceof State CoCBoise/AdaCounty CoCPeopleBy region: Boise and Ada County, and the rest of Idaho over timeBy region: Boise and Ada County, and the rest of Idaho over time. 2 series. Idaho Balance of State CoC: 1,168 in 2007, 1,925 in 2025.05001,0001,5002,0002010201520202025Idaho Balance ofState CoCBoise/Ada CountyCoCPeople

Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Point-in-Time Counts of Homelessness. Published .

Homeless per 1,000 residents

1.33 per 1,000 in 2025 (estimate). People counted as homeless on one night in January in HUD's point-in-time count, divided by the Census Bureau's July 1 population estimate for the same year, times 1,000.

Homeless per 1,000 residents, 2010 to 2025Homeless per 1,000 residents, 2010 to 2025. People experiencing homelessness per 1,000 residents: 1.49 in 2010, 1.33 in 2025.11.21.41.620102020Per 1,000Homeless per 1,000 residents, 2010 to 2025Homeless per 1,000 residents, 2010 to 2025. People experiencing homelessness per 1,000 residents: 1.49 in 2010, 1.33 in 2025.11.21.41.62010201520202025Peopleexperiencinghomelessnessper 1,000residentsPer 1,000Homeless per 1,000 residents, 2010 to 2025Homeless per 1,000 residents, 2010 to 2025. People experiencing homelessness per 1,000 residents: 1.49 in 2010, 1.33 in 2025.11.21.41.62010201520202025Peopleexperiencinghomelessness per1,000 residentsPer 1,000

Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, People experiencing homelessness per 1,000 residents (computed by Understand Idaho). Published .

Data table (15 rows)
PeriodPeople experiencing homelessness per 1,000 residents (per 1,000)
20101.49
20111.39
20121.23
20131.11
20141.29
20151.19
20161.34
20171.19
20181.15
20191.30
20201.25
20221.03
20231.17
20241.37
20251.33

Source

Organization
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Dataset
Point-in-Time Counts of Homelessness
Geography
Nation, all 50 states and DC; Idaho's two Continuums of Care
Time coverage
2007-2025
Update frequency
Annual
Published
Original file
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/xls/2007-2025-PIT-Counts-by-State.xlsb
Methodology
https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/hdx/pit-hic/
License
Public domain. U.S. federal government work.
Our copy
Point-in-Time Counts of Homelessness

Caveats

  • The count is of one night in the last ten days of January, not of everyone who is homeless at some point during the year.
  • People sleeping outside are counted by volunteers who canvass on that night, and in rural areas the count misses people who are not found; sheltered people are counted from shelter records. Counts in different years and places can differ in effort and method.
  • The count follows HUD's definition: people in emergency shelters, transitional housing, Safe Havens, or places not meant for habitation. People staying with family or friends ("doubled up") and in motels they pay for themselves are not counted, which is a narrower definition than the one Idaho's public schools use to count homeless students.
  • Communities must count people sleeping outside only every other year; in a year a Continuum of Care counts only shelters, HUD carries its previous outdoor count forward.
  • In January 2021 many Continuums of Care, including both of Idaho's, did not count or only partly counted people sleeping outside because of the pandemic. As in HUD's own report for that year, only the sheltered counts are shown for 2021.
  • Idaho has two Continuums of Care: Boise/Ada County, and the Idaho Balance of State, which covers the other 43 counties and is coordinated by the Idaho Housing and Finance Association.
  • The national figure includes Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the other territories that run a count.

State comparison:

Organization
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Dataset
People experiencing homelessness per 1,000 residents (computed by Understand Idaho)
Geography
Nation, all 50 states and DC; Idaho's two Continuums of Care
Time coverage
2007-2025
Update frequency
Annual
Published
Original file
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/xls/2007-2025-PIT-Counts-by-State.xlsb
License
Public domain. U.S. federal government work.
Our copy
People experiencing homelessness per 1,000 residents (computed by Understand Idaho)

Caveats

  • Computed by Understand Idaho from Point-in-Time Counts of Homelessness and Population Estimates Program; it is not a figure the publisher releases.
  • Totals for 2010-2019 are Vintage 2019 estimates and 2020-2025 are Vintage 2025; the two series are not reconciled, so a change at the seam includes the vintage revision.
  • City (incorporated place) totals cover 2020-2025 only; no 2010-2019 city series is included.
  • Components of change are published for the nation, states and Idaho's 44 counties; other states' county components are not included.
  • The ten places are Boise City, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Coeur d'Alene, Twin Falls, Post Falls and Rexburg, the ten largest by 2025 population estimate.
  • Group quarters estimates, the residual component, population-based rates, and Puerto Rico are not included.
  • The national domestic migration cell is 0 by construction (moves between states net to nothing) and is not stored as an observation; the United States has international migration and natural change only.

Where sources disagree

  • Population, Idaho, 2020: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census apportionment counts publishes 1,839,106. The Vintage 2025 Population Estimates Program's April 1, 2020 population base for Idaho is 1,839,123, 17 more than the 1,839,106 the Census Bureau delivered as Idaho's official 2020 Census apportionment count. This population base is not itself shipped as an observation (it is not a July 1 estimate), but it is the starting point this dataset's 2020-2025 state and county totals build forward from, so the same 17-person gap is not reconciled in those totals.

Inputs: Point-in-Time Counts of Homelessness and Population Estimates Program.

Cite

Cite this page as Understand Idaho, “People experiencing homelessness in Idaho”, https://understandidaho.com/housing/homelessness/, retrieved on the date you read it, and the publisher named above for the figures themselves. The dataset behind it is described in the data catalog.

This page was last updated .