Oregon’s 2025 Homeless Report Card
Each year, a Point-in-Time (PIT) count is conducted. Required by HUD, it offers a one-night snapshot of sheltered and unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness. It is a massive undertaking that requires thousands of volunteers. Although the count has limitations and likely understates the true size of the homeless population, it is still a useful tool. Below are the 2025 results for the state of Oregon:
In 2025, Oregon’s Point-in-Time count recorded 27,119 people experiencing homelessness statewide, the highest total ever recorded.1 Because Oregon did not have a complete statewide unsheltered count in 2024, the direct year-over-year comparisons should be made cautiously. However, since 2007, Oregon’s statewide homeless population, as measured by the Point-in-Time count, has increased by 54.2%.
So how does Oregon stack up against other states on key homelessness indicators? One point should be clear: these figures do not come from critics of Oregon’s policymakers. They come from the federal government and two reputable organizations specializing in substance abuse and mental health.2,3,4 Here is where Oregon stood in 2024 on several key measures.
As you can see, Oregon ranks at or near the bottom on all seven key homeless metrics.
In 2025, public spending on homelessness in Oregon was at least about $751 million, and likely more. The three Metro5 counties alone — Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas — reported about $735.4 million in homeless-services funding in FY 2024–25, and when the rest of Oregon’s HUD Continuum of Care6 funding is added, the statewide figure rises to roughly $750.8 million7. Even that likely understates the true total, because Oregon has not published one clean statewide reconciliation of county, state, and federal homelessness dollars, and some funding streams overlap, making exact calculation difficult without risking double-counting. A conservative estimate is that Oregon spent $28,000 per homeless person in 2025 ($751 million ÷ 27,119 homeless people).
Based on the outcomes above, what letter grade should the State of Oregon receive on its Homelessness Report Card? Oregon ranks at or near the bottom in seven key homelessness metrics, and its homeless population continues to grow year after year, with no sign of meaningful stabilization anytime soon. On that basis, Oregon deserves an F. For those of us who call Oregon home, these seven metrics are nothing short of embarrassing. We can do better. We must do better.
Footnotes:
1. 2025 Oregon Statewide Homelessness Estimates conducted by Portland State University
2. The 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress
3. 2024 Mental Health America State Rankings
4. 2024 National Drug Helpline State Rankings
5. Metro — Supportive Housing Services Regional Annual Report, FY 2024–25
6. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — FY2024 CoC Competition Awards Projects Report (released January 14, 2025)
7. State of Oregon — Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for FY ended June 30, 2025
