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San Mateo County’s homeless population has ticked up slightly in the past two years, according to new data from the county’s “Point In Time” count earlier this year.
The federally mandated homeless count is conducted every two years and requires volunteers to canvas the entire county – including all streets, shelters, cars and parks – to identify unhoused people. This year’s count took place on Jan. 29.
Preliminary results released June 1 found 2,240 people experiencing homelessness, up slightly from 2,130 in 2024. That figure is nearly double the number of homeless people — 1,253 — counted in 2017. That was the county’s lowest record figure in over a decade.
This year, 1,095 homeless people were located in shelters, an 11% increase from the 2024 sheltered population. Additionally, 1,145 people were unsheltered, the same as the 2024 tally. The county has expanded its shelter capacity by 41% since 2020, according to a county press release.
Of the 1,145 unsheltered individuals, 482 people slept in cars, 311 in RVs and 246 slept on the street.
Pacifica recorded the highest number of unhoused residents in the county, with 228 people counted despite having a population of only about 39,000. By comparison, much larger cities reported fewer unhoused residents, including Redwood City (175) and Daly City (147). East Palo Alto, another relatively small city of roughly 30,000, also had a notably high count, with 107 unhoused residents. The figures suggest that Pacifica and East Palo Alto bear a disproportionate share of the county’s unhoused population relative to their size.
The Point In Time count is an imperfect estimate of the county’s homeless population, requiring volunteers to identify unhoused individuals with their own eyes. Some organizations have argued that the method underestimates the homelessness problem since people are often not visibly homeless. Despite its shortcomings, Claire Cunningham, the county’s director of the Human Services Agency, said data from the count provides an apples-to-apples comparison of homelessness numbers over time.
“It’s one of many data points we track on the movement of people into and out of homelessness,” said Claire Cunningham, director of the county’s Human Services Agency, in a press statement. “Our work continues to focus both on helping people exit homelessness and preventing others from falling into it.”
San Mateo County has invested heavily in housing initiatives. Since 2013, the county has put around $365 million in Measure K tax receipts and other local funding into supporting the creation of more than 5,100 affordable permanent homes, according to the county’s preliminary report.
San Mateo County has among the most expensive homes in California. Rental prices have also increased in recent years. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the monthly fair market rent for a two-bedroom unit in San Mateo County increased from $3,359 in 2024 to $3,604 in 2026. To afford that rent without spending more than 30% of income on housing, a household would need to earn about $144,000 annually.
