Nearly 5,000 New Yorkers slept on the city’s streets, subways or parks this year — the highest number recorded in more than a decade and an increase of more than 400 people from last year, city data shows.
The Department of Social Services Thursday released its yearly Homeless Outreach Population Survey, or HOPE count, which measures how many people slept outside on a single night. The count does not include the homeless population residing in shelters.
The annual count is required by federal law. While the tally is supposed to take place on the coldest night of the year to measure how many homeless residents are opting out of the city’s shelter system, this year it happened in March when temperatures were unusually warm. The count was postponed from January because of a stretch of dangerously frigid weather.
This year 4,991 people were counted outdoors, an 11% increase from 2025. The numbers come as the city faces a stubborn homelessness crisis where more than 82,000 New Yorkers are residing in the city’s shelters every night. The Mamdani administration has rushed to open more than 430 new shelter beds that offer more flexibility than traditional shelters, such as no curfew. They’ve also resumed sweeps of homeless encampments, though they’ve put the Department of Homeless Services instead of the NYPD in charge.
Despite the spike, most homeless New Yorkers are still residing in shelters because of the city’s unique right-to-shelter law, which guarantees a bed to anyone who asks for one, city officials said.
Less than 5% of the city’s homeless population is unsheltered, compared to cities like Los Angeles or Portland, where more than 60% of homeless people are sleeping in the street, data shared by the Department of Social Services shows.
“While we recognize, and this year’s count confirms, that most people experiencing homelessness in NYC are in shelter, I place the utmost importance on reaching those living unsheltered and offering the individualized housing options and supports that meet their unique needs and position them for long-term stability,” department Commissioner Erin Dalton said in a statement.
The data shows an increase in street homeless numbers in Brooklyn and Manhattan, with fewer people counted inside the subway this year, the lowest since the pandemic.
Department of Social Services officials said more than 300 New Yorkers living on the streets and subways were placed in permanent housing from nontraditional shelter beds known as Safe Havens in the first three months of this year.
Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020.