Utah’s annual measure of the number of people experiencing homelessness is out.

The federally mandated point-in-time count, in which volunteers go out on a single night in January and tally homeless people inside and outside of shelters, showed that 4,512 Utahns were without housing on that night in 2026. That’s a 1.6% decrease from the year prior — when 4,584 were counted — and the first decrease since 2022.

“I am hopeful about the changes we are seeing in Utah,” Gov. Spencer Cox said in a news release. “This year’s reversal in the number of individuals experiencing homelessness on the streets of Utah is the result of sustained legislative investment, strong partnership across state and local governments, and continued work from service providers, advocates and community stakeholders.”

In recent years, policymakers at all levels of government have looked to make the state’s homeless services system more robust and efficient through investments in housing and treatment for mental health. The governor’s news release argued that those efforts were yielding results.

The drop comes a year after an 18% jump in homelessness from 2024 to 2025. That data led to tension between Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and state legislative leaders.

On Tuesday, however, House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, and Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, lauded the results of this year’s January count that, they said, come from governments coordinating.

“For the first time in years, Utah is seeing homelessness move in the right direction, and we’re working to make sure that progress holds,” they wrote. “This progress comes from focusing on accountability, treatment and solutions that produce measurable results when communities come together. Utahns deserve safe communities and a homeless response system that delivers real outcomes, and we will continue building on that progress.”

Two key subgroups, those who were living in places unfit for human habitation at the time of the count and those who are chronically homeless, also saw decreases of 9.7% and 6.7% respectively.

Sheltered homelessness grew by 0.8%, according to the release, and the number of homeless people 65 and older grew by 8.1%, to 385 in total.

“Homelessness is not a one-size-fits-all problem, and our response can’t be either,” said Tyler Clancy, the state’s homeless coordinator. “An effective, accountable system meets people where they are and gives them the individualized support they need to exit homelessness and build lasting stability.”