Point-in-Time count found 12% jump in homelessness in Southern Nevada since 2024

Nearly 9,000 people in Clark County were experiencing homelessness in January of this year, a 12% increase over 2024, according to data released Wednesday.

The Southern Nevada Homelessness Continuum of Care Point-in-Time (PIT) count in January revealed that 8,859 people in Clark County are experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2026. Due to multiple factors, PIT counts are incapable of capturing the full extent of homelessness, which means a PIT is almost invariably an undercount.

No count was done in 2025. The 2024 PIT had found 20% growth over the previous year in homelessness statewide.

Preliminary results of Washoe County’s PIT released earlier this year indicated a 1.5% increase in homelessness there over 2024.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires each state to conduct the PIT count to track progress on homelessness, inform funding formulas, and guide service and program priorities. 

The January Clark County PIT count revealed Wednesday shows that  57% of those experiencing homelessness were unsheltered, while 43% were living in emergency shelters or transitional housing. 

Of the nearly 9,000 counted in Clark County, 1,630 were in 499 families, a 15% increase from 2024. The report lists 379 people as young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, a 9% drop from 2024. 

The count also found 23 unaccompanied unhoused children, down 29 counted in 2024. 

The 2,074 people listed as chronically homeless — those who have been unhoused for at least a year and also struggle with serious mental illness, substance abuse, or a physical disability — was a 23% decline from 2024.

But the 605 veterans experiencing homelessness was a 22% increase over 2024.

The data show the Black population to be overrepresented in the homeless population, with 42% experiencing homelessness while making up 11% of the Clark County population. 

In an effort to prevent homelessness and expand affordable housing, Clark County currently has four initiatives to help vulnerable citizens. These initiatives include Rapid Rehousing programs, emergency and non-congregate shelters, navigation programs, and the Welcome Home Community Housing Fund which aims to provide permanent supportive housing. 

“Conducting the Point-in-Time Count is crucial for giving us a snapshot of how many people in Southern Nevada are experiencing homelessness,” said Clark County Social Services Director Jamie Sorenson in a statement accompanying Wednesday’s release of the PIT data. “But it is just one part of the work that is being done every single day in Clark County to provide services to those who need it most. Since the last PIT Count in 2024, we have added four non-congregate shelters, bringing the total to ten facilities where folks can get wraparound services while in a space designed to get them into their own home one day.”