- Utah's homelessness increased 18% in 2025, with over 4,500 individuals affected.
- Chronic homelessness rose 36%, highlighting a need for supportive services, officials say.
- State efforts focus on prevention affordable housing and support for seniors and veterans.
SALT LAKE CITY — A little more than 4,500 Utahns were experiencing homelessness during an annual survey conducted earlier this year, signaling an 18% increase from the previous count, according to a new state report.
The report, published by the Utah Office of Homeless Services on Wednesday, also found a 36% increase in people experiencing chronic homelessness as compared to last year. While Utah's homelessness rate remains below the national average, state officials say the report highlights a growing need to address the issue.
"This year's data tells a complex story. While most people still resolve their homelessness quickly with shelter and support, we're seeing growing needs, especially among seniors, veterans and first-time shelter residents," said Wayne Niederhauser, Utah's homeless coordinator.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall added she's "extremely concerned" that state leaders aren't doing enough to handle a growing statewide issue, which is creating more challenges in communities. She believes the new report is a "battle cry" to invest more resources to address the problem.
Meanwhile, state leaders say they've made the "largest investment in homeless services in our state's history," and called on the city to " keep working with us to find practical and lasting solutions to this complex issue."
Utah's homelessness uptick
The new homelessness information is based on the 2025 point-in-time count in January. The annual homelessness survey serves as a census to better understand how many people are experiencing homelessness and why, along with other key details.
Utah officials found 715 more people were experiencing homelessness than in 2024, a big jump from the previous report that found an increase of 131 people from 2023 to 2024. People experiencing chronic homelessness rose from 906 to 1,233, representing more than a quarter of people experiencing homelessness altogether. About 1 in every 5 people experiencing homelessness was unsheltered.
"This highlights the continued need for supportive services for individuals with disabilities and long histories of homelessness, while also confirming that chronic homelessness remains a minority of the overall homeless population in Utah," the report states.
Key findings from the point-in-time count:
- Utah's homelessness rate is now 13 per 10,000 people, up from 11 in 2024 but below the national rate of 23 per 10,000 people.
- More than 650 children were experiencing homelessness — a 12% increase from 2024.
- The number of people 64 or older experiencing homelessness also jumped from 251 last year to 356 in 2025 — a 42% increase.
- 165 veterans were experiencing homelessness — up 36% from the previous year.
- Over 60% of all people experiencing homelessness reported having mental illness or substance abuse disorders.
New emergency shelter data was also released on Wednesday.
The number of people who returned to homelessness rose slightly from the previous year, but it's down from 2022. About 10% returned to homelessness within six months, which is about the same as 2023 and down from 15% in 2022.
However, the average stay at emergency shelters in 2024 also increased by 10 days from 2023, indicating the "growing difficulty individuals face in securing stable housing," per the report. About 75% of emergency shelter stays were 90 days or less last year, a decrease from 80% in 2023. The number of people who needed shelter for 12 months rose slightly from almost 2% in 2023 to 2.4% in 2024.
A 'humanitarian crisis'
This is troubling because there isn't enough funding to keep up with the construction and operation needs for shelters to handle the growing number of people experiencing homelessness, Mendenhall said.
About half of all people experiencing homelessness and nearly 80% of people experiencing chronic homelessness were living in Salt Lake County at the time of the survey, where most of the services exist. Almost half of all unsheltered people in the state were also found in the county, creating challenges for communities.
There have been a record number of emergency calls tied to homelessness, and the city is poised to break a record in arrests for any crimes that are committed, the mayor explained. However, without more shelter beds, supportive housing, mental health treatment and jail space, she said "too many people" will remain on the streets, potentially adding to the state concerns that prompted the city to create a public safety plan.
"This is a humanitarian crisis. ... Utah is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation. We should not be surprised to find more people are losing housing due to financial and economic pressures when we couple it with the inadequate statewide housing stock," she said. "There are simply not enough options for housing, shelter beds, treatment centers or social services to meet the demand in this state."
Seeking to curb homelessness
The report doesn't outline why people experience homelessness, but it highlights the need for tools that reduce homelessness or at least the time people experience homelessness. These include affordable housing, more economic opportunities and "strong social safety nets" that can help people avoid homelessness.
It's also a challenge that Mendenhall says the city can't solve with police alone, which is why she said she plans to work with other entities to propose new legislation that addresses the growing issue. However, she said that it will require support from the Utah Legislature to move forward.
"We must see action from legislative leadership and our governor to create the change that we not only know is possible, but is desperately needed," she said.
Utah has spent more than $266 million on addressing homelessness over the past five years, which is the largest investment it has ever made on the issue, said Gov. Spencer Cox, Senate President Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz, in a statement responding to the mayor.
They say they're still encouraged by crime improvements in Salt Lake City, but they blasted city leadership for persistent challenges.
"The city needs to stay focused on its core responsibility of protecting its citizens, keeping streets safe and clean, and making our capital a place Utahns can be proud of and visitors want to experience," the statement reads, in part. "We urge Mayor Mendenhall to turn down the politics and keep working with us to find practical and lasting solutions to this complex issue."
Some new policies have helped reduce the time people are homeless, Wednesday's report states. More mental health and substance use disorder treatment, job training and more affordable housing projects have helped people "stabilize and transition quickly to permanent housing," it adds.
Niederhauser said the increased shelter capacity and improved outcomes for those who receive help show that new legislative investment is starting to help, but there is still work to reduce homelessness in the state.
"These efforts move us closer to our goal of making homelessness in Utah rare, brief and nonrecurring," he said.
