Overall homelessness is up in Denver — again — but far fewer people are sleeping outside, snapshot report says
The overall number of homeless people in Denver increased over the past year, but far fewer people were sleeping outside when an annual census was conducted, according to the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative’s point-in-time count released Monday.
The snapshot report, which reflects how many people were homeless on a single night in January, shows that overall homelessness increased 12% over the 2024 count. But unsheltered homelessness — meaning people who are sleeping in tents or on the street — decreased 38%.
“We set this crazy, ambitious goal to end street homelessness in (my) first term,” said Mayor Mike Johnston. “And to be almost halfway there, almost halfway through term 1, I think reaffirms that’s not an impossible dream.”
A Denver-produced analysis of other cities’ point-in-time counts suggests the decline is the greatest multiyear reduction in unsheltered homelessness in U.S. history, Johnston said. Since the January 2023 count, which found 1,423 people living on the city’s streets, the unsheltered count has decreased 45%.
Johnston and his team downplayed the overall increase in homelessness, including by saying in a briefing document that it is “still increasing but leveling off” — despite a 12.5% increase this year, following a 12.4% increase in 2024. But they say the report proves their approach is working.
“People who are by far at the greatest health and safety risk in the city are folks who are living on the streets,” Johnston said. “It’s also what impacts the city most.”
During the 2024 point-in-time count, 1,273 people were unsheltered. And in January, there were just 785 counted in the city. That’s fewer than any other city that has reported in its point-in-time data, said Cole Chandler, the deputy director of Johnston’s city homelessness initiative.
In its new report, the MDHI counted 7,327 total people who were homeless in Denver this year, according to the data. Last year it was 6,539. The increase showed the continuing impact of the housing affordability challenge.
Cathy Alderman with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless said she was encouraged by the decrease in street homelessness but disappointed that overall figures were still growing.
“The fact that chronic homelessness continues to increase year over year illustrates the stark reality that people are staying in the cycle of homelessness longer, because there are no long-term affordable housing options available to them,” said Alderman, the coalition’s chief communications and public policy officer.
MDHI also compiles data for the seven-county metro. There were 10,774 homeless people total across those counties this year, according to the data, up from 9,997, or a nearly 8% increase. That followed a 10% increase reported last year.
Under Johnston, who ran on addressing homelessness in Denver in the 2023 election, Denver — which deals with the bulk of the homelessness challenge — has added about 1,000 shelter beds, bringing the total count to about 3,000. Under the All In Mile High initiative, it opened several former hotels as shelters and added a handful of tiny home micro-communities as the city moved inhabitants of street encampments indoors.
The city doesn’t plan on expanding its shelter bed capacity further, Chandler said. Instead, officials will work on getting more people into permanent housing, he said.
“We’re at the point in our strategy where we’re really focused on how do we get those folks … into permanent housing?” Chandler said.
That could be a difficult task if the city loses federal housing vouchers, which helps house low-income individuals and families, as the Trump Administration is proposing cuts to the program.
Denver will have to explore creative ways to expand its affordable housing options, Johnston said. That could include converting commercial properties to residential, allowing private development on public land and offering tax incentives to builders.
He called that effort “the next frontier” for the city.
Johnston’s administration will also use rapid-rehousing programs, which can include rent subsidies, to help low-income people get into short- or medium-term housing.
Beyond the federal headwinds, the state and city are also facing budget crunches.
Johnston announced mandatory furloughs for city employees last month and said there will be layoffs and budget cuts coming soon. He added that while his homelessness initiative will face cuts, they’re likely to be less substantial than for other programs.
“I don’t think we will see a major challenge in terms of our homelessness system this year,” Chandler said. “Looking forward, it’s really about: How do we establish efficiencies and make sure we have the best structure for long term?”
The initiative costs the city about $58 million each year.
In releasing its report, the MDHI says the rate that homelessness is growing appears to be slowing. There are also fewer “newly homeless” individuals, according to a news release from the organization, adding to the bright spot of the drop in unsheltered homelessness.
“The 2025 PIT count data reinforces what we already know: When we invest in coordinated, evidence-based solutions and work together across systems, we see measurable results,” said Jason Johnson, the MDHI’s executive director, in a statement.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires that cities conduct the point-in-time count each year.
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