Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness Releases 2025 Point-in-Time Count Data Summary Report 

Tucson, AZ, June 30, 2025 – The annual Homeless Point-in-Time (PIT) Count provides a snapshot of households experiencing homelessness on a single night. This year’s event was conducted in Pima County on January 29, 2025. This survey was supported by the efforts of more than 400 volunteers from the community, government agencies, and partnering non-profits. The PIT count, which is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is used in program planning across shelter, housing, and supportive services. The 2025 count identified 2,218 people in 1,857 households residing in shelter, transitional housing, or living without shelter in Pima County the night of January 29, 2025.   

While the total number of people experiencing homelessness remains high, there are several encouraging signs that our local strategies are working: 

• Since 2022, overall PIT numbers have remained relatively flat—holding the line even as other regions experience steep increases. 

• Unsheltered homelessness has dropped by 23% since 2022. Over that same period, sheltered homelessness increased by 63%, showing that the system is effectively scaling to meet demand and provide safer alternatives to the street. 

• Youth homelessness among 18–24-year-olds has decreased by 32%. 

• This 2025 count was more expansive with the inclusion of the communities in Ajo and Catalina. 

“Having anyone living on the streets is devastating. The high demand for homeless shelter and services pose a community-wide challenge. TPCH and its partners are focused on alleviating this crisis through coordinated efforts to bring respite to our unsheltered neighbors and creating solutions to provide stable housing,” said Shannon Fowler, chairperson of the TPCH Board. 

Overall, the 2025 PIT data reflects the growing number of people experiencing homelessness in Pima County since 2018 and offers initial indication that current efforts are reducing unsheltered homelessness in the region after a period of rapid growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

In 2020, just weeks before the COVID-19 public health crisis, just over 1,300 homeless individuals were tallied in the PIT count, with just 579 individuals unsheltered. By 2022, the number of unsheltered individuals nearly tripled from 2020 (no count occurred in 2021 due to COVID). Our community is still recovering from the economic consequences of COVID, including rising housing and living costs, job loss, and the end of the eviction moratorium, which have all led directly to the rise of homelessness.  

Looking at the demographics, more than 63 percent of the 2,218 homeless individuals were men and more than 35 percent were women. The remaining percentage of individuals self-identified as transgender, multiple gender, non-binary. Nearly 50 percent of homeless individuals identify as white, while 21 percent as Hispanic, 13 percent identify as Black or African American and 8 percent identify as American Indian/ Alaska Native. Asians, Middle Eastern and North African, Pacific Islanders and individuals identifying as multiple races rounded out the total number.

The PIT count also highlights the persistent disparity as less than 4 percent of Pima County population identifies as Black/African American while they are 13 percent of the homeless population. 

The Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness and its member agencies continue to work to respond to homelessness in Tucson and Pima County through a variety of strategies which include:  

• Coordinated street outreach and engagement services to promote service and shelter participation among unsheltered persons.  

• Increasing the number of emergency shelter beds for persons experiencing homelessness. 

• Expanding available transitional and permanent housing programs. 

• Improving coordination between justice, behavioral health, social service, and mainstream housing resources.  

Even though the PIT Count only gives a snapshot of homelessness for one night in our community, the annual count is an important tool used to inform priorities for federal, state, and local funding. It also helps identify trends and craft solutions for the needs of vulnerable individuals and families.

The analysis and overall trend data are utilized by the Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness as one of many tools to track progress toward goals to prevent, reduce, and end homelessness. Additional information regarding this year’s count and historical Tucson/Pima County PIT data can be found here.