Family Homelessness:
How many families are homeless?

About one percent of Americans, up to 3.5 million people, will experience homelessness over the course of a year. Of these, about half are members of homeless families. This represents about 600,000 families and 2 percent of all U.S. families. Up to ten percent of people in poverty will experience homelessness.

Children are at particularly high risk of homelessness. Up to 40 percent of the individuals experiencing homelessness each year are children.2 One in ten poor children will experience homelessness over the course of a year and the risk is highest the younger the child. One study indicates that 4.2 percent of infants born to low income parents and 16 percent of poor African American children under the age of five experience homelessness over the course of one year in large U.S. cities.

Homelessness is a relatively common experience for very low-income families. Eight percent of poor families in the U.S. experience homelessness over the course of a year. One study has found that 20 percent of adults who have received public assistance, including welfare benefits, have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives.

Source: National Alliance to End Homelessness