Highlights

Maricopa County's 2026 Point-in-Time homelessness count found 9,726 people experiencing homelessness on Jan. 27, essentially unchanged from the prior year's total, but the composition shifted: 53% were in shelter and 47% were unsheltered, with the sheltered population up 14% and the unsheltered population down 12% year over year.

The count is a one-day street census required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for federal funding and is administered by the Maricopa Association of Governments. The 2026 total is a 31% increase from 2020, when the count recorded 7,419 people experiencing homelessness countywide.

In Phoenix specifically, 4,041 people were counted as sheltered on Jan. 27, a 15% increase from the 2025 count. Rachel Milne, director of the city's Office of Homeless Solutions, told KTAR News 92.3 FM that reaching 55% shelter occupancy among Phoenix's unhoused population on that day reflected years of deliberate investment. "We had 55% of the people experiencing homelessness in Phoenix on that day (Jan. 27) that were in shelter, which is huge. That is exactly what we've been working toward the last several years," Milne said.

The countywide sheltered total of 5,159 still trails the 2024 figure of 5,359, when federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars were still flowing. MAG's Tim Burch noted that reaching near-2024 shelter levels with diminished federal funding represents real progress. Milne added that Phoenix now holds more permanent shelter beds than it did before 2024, the result of capital and infrastructure investment.

A definitional dispute with HUD is also suppressing Phoenix's sheltered count. Approximately 200 people living in the city's "Safe Outdoor Space," a city-owned outdoor site where residents receive standard shelter services, are classified by HUD as unsheltered. Milne pushed back on that designation, saying the site is far safer than a street situation.

Why is family homelessness still rising?

Family homelessness has increased steadily since at least 2020, with 611 families counted in the 2026 survey. Burch attributed the trend to rising costs, stagnant wages, and the loss of more than 1,000 family shelter beds tied to the expiration of federal pandemic relief dollars at the end of 2024. Local programs can work around the tight eligibility definitions that federal dollars impose, Burch said, and rapid rehousing remains the most cost-effective intervention for families because it reduces the likelihood of re-entry into homelessness.

Despite the flat headline number, a March 2026 MAG report found that 242 more households entered the regional homeless services system in that month than exited it, indicating that intake pressure has not eased. Both Milne and Burch said their agencies are prioritizing prevention and rapid rehousing this year. Burch said he expects to see an overall reduction in the 2027 count.

For Scottsdale context: the city's own 2025 count recorded 105 unsheltered people, an 18% increase from 89 in 2024, according to the city's news release. Scottsdale's Bridge Program, which sheltered 168 seniors and single parents since October 2022, ended after its hotel contract expired; the City Council approved $190,000 for five hotel rooms to extend bridge housing through May 2025.

Sources

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  1. ktar.com retrieved 20/05/2026 03:00

Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 20/05/2026 03:00. Every claim traces to a source.