The number of people experiencing homelessness in Utah saw a steep jump this year.
According to the annual point-in-time count, which is conducted in January, the number swelled from just under 3,900 homeless Utahns last year to about 4,600 — an 18% leap.
“That’s a big increase,” state homelessness coordinator Wayne Niederhauser said. “I don’t know if we’ve had an increase like that. And we’re concerned about the increase because it’s in the area of prevention. How do we prevent people from getting into homelessness?”
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall echoed that concern at a news briefing Wednesday afternoon, calling on state lawmakers to do more to address what she called a “humanitarian crisis.”
As its name suggests, the point-in-time count reveals only a snapshot of the Beehive State’s homeless population.
Niederhauser’s Office of Homeless Services released the data Wednesday as part of its annual report on the effectiveness of Utah’s system.
The report paints a mostly worrying picture of the state’s efforts on the issue, with most indicators, like the point-in-time count, worsening. Others, like the percentage of people returning to homelessness after finding a place to live, improved slightly.
The report comes after a busy start to the year for homelessness leaders with the opening of a new family shelter in South Salt Lake and the ongoing search for a new homeless campus at least four times bigger than the largest existing shelter in the state. Niederhauser said he anticipates the campus to be able to sleep about 1,300 people, but its opening will be delayed from its original October target.
January’s point-in-time count revealed increases in numbers of homeless children, veterans and older people. It also found that of the roughly 4,600 people without permanent shelter, more than 1,200 of them were chronically homeless — meaning they have spent more than 12 months homeless cumulatively in the past three years. That increase represented a 36% rise over the previous year.
Stats spur public spat
Mendenhall called the situation “dire” and repeated her ask for the Utah Legislature to do more.
“I am deeply concerned about the trajectory of homelessness in the state of Utah and our capital city. And what’s more, I’m extremely concerned by the lack of forward momentum for legislative leaders to address this growing statewide crisis,” she said. “This year’s point-in-time count ... should be heard as a battle cry to bring more energy, focus and leadership to this issue by our state Legislature.”
Mendenhall criticized state legislators specifically for not yet fully funding the proposed homeless campus and called on them to put up the cash for more mental health resources and housing.
In a joint statement, Gov. Spencer Cox, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, and House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, pushed back on Mendenhall’s comments.
Lawmakers, they said, have spent more on homelessness in the past five years — more than $266 million — than at any other time in Utah’s history.
While Cox, Adams and Schultz contend homelessness is mostly dealt with on the local and county levels across the nation, they say state leaders here have stepped up to help address the issue.
“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,” they said. “We urge Mayor Mendenhall to turn down the politics and keep working with us to find practical and lasting solutions to this complex issue. Our citizens expect results, not finger-pointing.”
Housing costs cause strain
Niederhauser did note a silver lining in the report: Of the additional 715 homeless Utahns the point-in-time survey captured in 2025, 95% were staying in emergency shelters at the time. Officials said that data point shows how the state’s expansion of winter overflow beds helped keep those struggling with homelessness off the streets during the coldest months.
In another statistic that concerns officials, almost 10,300 Utahns experienced homelessness for the first time last year, a 5% jump from 2023.
Niederhauser said rising housing costs are having an effect on the number of people sliding into homelessness.
“Sadly to say, our housing market has skyrocketed here, which a lot of people benefit from,” Niederhauser, a former housing developer, said. “And so, we won’t disparage that in any way, except that there are people that are being left behind, so to speak, with the costs, and it makes it more difficult.”
Niederhauser mentioned drug and mental health issues as possible factors, as well.
On the positive side of the ledger, about 88% of beds in the state’s homeless services system have been filled nightly, a small increase over 2024, as people look to stay out of the elements.
On the affordable housing front, the office reported 160 new low-income units opened statewide in fiscal 2025. Across Utah, officials opened up more than 900 additional winter beds over the same period.
Other highlights from the report
• Utah’s homelessness rate jumped to 13 people per 100,000 residents, an increase of two, but below the national average of 23 people.
• 75% of people who entered an emergency shelter stayed less than three months in 2024. That’s down from 80% a year earlier.
• Similarly, the average length of stay in transitional housing or a homeless shelter last year grew by almost 11 days.
• Utah’s shelter and transitional housing system hosted more than 13,800 people last year, a 9% bump over the previous year.
• About 26% of those who slept in a shelter or similar option successfully found permanent housing last year.
Correction • Aug. 13, 12 p.m.: This story has been updated to correct the percentage of people who successfully exited the homeless services system for permanent housing.