City of Palo Alto Report, CY2025 (January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025) Office of Supportive Housing, Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County Overview
Homelessness in Santa Clara County and the City of Palo Alto Measure of Homelessness
Measures of Homelessness (and Housing Placements)
Currently on the Community Housing Queue, as of January 30, 2026 Homeless in CY2025: Total VI‐SPDAT assessments completed in CY2025 The CY2025 Santa Clara County Supportive Housing System (Active program enrollments during CY2025) Households
Project Type Enrolled Housed (if applicable) Enrolled Housed (if applicable) Enrolled Housed Permanent Supportive Housing (disability required) 4,556 4,331 219 214 4.8% 4.9% Rapid Rehousing 1,679 1,276 74 57 4.4% 4.5% Emergency Housing Voucher Program 653 642 26 26 4.0% 4.0% Emergency Shelter 5,102 NA 272 NA 5.3% NA Transitional Housing 529 NA 16 NA 3.0% NA Safe Parking 550 NA 72 NA 13.1% NA Street Outreach 5,194 NA 187 NA 3.6% NA Housing Problem Solving 4,530 NA 203 NA 4.5% NA Services Only (Includes UPLIFT) 8,944 NA 563 NA 6.3% NA Homelessness Prevention 3,121 NA 29 NA 0.9% NA Emergency Shelter enrollments have increased as the capacity of shelter programs increased from 2,158 units in December 2024 to 2,968 units in December 2025.
Santa Clara County
10,711 people were experiencing homelessness
in Santa Clara County (an increase of 8% from
9,903 in 2023)
∙ 7,472 (70%) of them were unsheltered and
3,239 (30%) were sheltered
Santa Clara County
5,311 households
8,614 households
o 3,858 households requested housing
o 2,012 households were placed in permanent
City of Palo Alto
418 people were experiencing homelessness in
the City of Palo Alto (an increase of 103% from
206 in 2023)
∙ 399 (95%) of them were unsheltered
City of Palo Alto Affiliated
187 households
297 households
o 154 households requested housing assistance
Notes:
Only Head of Household data are shown for these reports as planning for housing developments is done at the household level.
Households may be enrolled in more than one program type within the reporting period.
Homelessness Prevention city affiliation definition is based on the current zip code of the head of household at program enrollment. o 71 households were placed in permanent
As we are implementing effective solutions and slowing the growth of the crisis, Santa Clara County saw a 5% decrease in CY2025 in homeless inflow (people seeking homelessness assistance for the first time) compared to CY2024 and a 19% decrease in homeless inflow since CY2019 (the baseline year for the Community Plan). We must summon the collective will and resources to not only respond to the current crisis and scale our successful housing strategies, but also address and eliminate the root causes of homelessness in our community. By pooling our resources and coordinating our efforts, each city’s investment will be multiplied and will maximize our efforts to expand the supportive housing system and end homelessness in Santa Clara County. We hope this bi‐annual report will support your City in meeting the need in your jurisdiction, as well as connect your strategies to county‐wide efforts. • 27,037 people (19,243 households) were served through temporary housing which consists of emergency shelter, transitional housing, and safe parking • Supportive Housing (i.e., Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid Rehousing) capacity increased by 29% with a total of 6,400 units/subsidies and 1,041 units in the pipeline • Temporary housing (Emergency shelter, Transitional housing, and Safe Parking) capacity increased by 82% with a total of 3,420 units and over 280 shelter units in the pipeline Link to most recent progress report: 2020‐2025 Community Plan to End Homelessness Through a collective impact response implementing the 2020‐2025 Community Plan to End Homelessness, Santa Clara County housed over 3,300 people (about 2,012 households) in CY2025. This continued progress speaks to the efforts of partners working collaboratively on shared goals.
Since January 2020 (through December 2025):
• 20,830 people were connected to permanent housing (12,362 households) • Prevention programs reached 38,060 at‐risk people (20,341 households) Percent of Total SCCCity of Palo Alto Affiliated
Point‐in‐Time Count, January 2025
System Inflow (First time VI‐SPDAT) & Outflow (Housing Placements), CY2025 Santa Clara County
Summary Charts Page 1 of 2
Summary Chart of City of Palo Alto Affiliated Program Enrollments Project Type Enrolled
Homelessness Prevention 29
Services Only (Includes UPLIFT) 563
Housing Problem Solving 203
Street Outreach 187
Safe Parking 72
Transitional Housing 16
Emergency Shelter 272
Emergency Housing Voucher Program 26
Rapid Rehousing 74
Permanent Supportive Housing (disability required) 219
29 563
203
187
72 16
272
26 74
219
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION
SERVICES ONLY (INCLUDES UPLIFT)
HOUSING PROBLEM SOLVING
STREET OUTREACH
SAFE PARKING
TRANSITIONAL HOUSING
EMERGENCY SHELTER
EMERGENCY HOUSING VOUCHER PROGRAM
RAPID REHOUSING
PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING (DISABILITY REQUIRED)
City of Palo Alto: Household Program Enrollments during CY2025 Summary Charts Page 2 of 2
Homeless Inflow ‐ First Time VI‐SPDAT (Households)
Calendar Year Total Homeless Inflow
(Santa Clara County)
City of Palo Alto
Affiliated Inflow
Percent of
Total
2019 4,744 138 2.9%
2020 3,419 139 4.1%
2021 3,156 173 5.5%
2022 3,440 153 4.4%
2023 4,267 162 3.8%
2024 4,071 126 3.1%
2025 3,858 154 4.0%
Households Placed in Permanent Housing
Calendar Year Total Housed (Santa
Clara County)
City of Palo Alto
Affiliated Housed
Percent of
Total
2019 1,947 87 4.5%
2020 2,099 80 3.8%
2021 1,943 65 3.3%
2022 2,060 64 3.1%
2023 2,509 80 3.2%
2024 2,234 65 2.9%
2025 2,012 71 3.5%
City of Palo Alto Affiliated Households
Homeless Inflow Housed
2019 138 87
2020 147 80
2021 180 65
2022 165 64
2023 168 80
2024 127 65
2025 154 71
138 147
180
165 168
127
154
87 80
65 64
80 65 71
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
City of Palo Alto: Homeless Inflow and Permanent Housing Placements
Homeless Inflow
Housed
Trends Page 1 of 1
Demographics for 297 VI‐SPDAT Assessments Completed in CY25, City of Palo Alto:
This represents an indicator of homelessness in CY25 for households affiliated with the City of Palo Alto Note: Data not shown for groups with fewer than 11 respondents Permanent
Supportive
Housing, 146,
49%Rapid Rehousing,
131, 44%
Minimal Range,
20, 7%
By Level of Need (Based on VI‐SPDAT Score)
4%, 11
4%, 11
4%, 12
8%, 25
22%, 64
27%, 79
32%, 95
0 2 04 06 08 0 1 0 0
Jail (Completed a JD‐VI‐
SPDAT)
Other/ Data not collected
Transitional Housing
Couch Surfing
Shelters/ Safe Haven/ Motel
Outdoors
Car/RV/Trailer/Van
Where do you sleep most frequently?
Demographics Page 1 of 7
8%, 23
15%, 44
22%, 64 22%, 63
18%, 52 17%, 51
0 10
20 30
40 50
60 70
18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or Above By Age Tier
55%, 163
14%, 41
11%, 33
8%, 25
11%, 34
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
2 years or more
1 ‐ 2 years
6 months to 1 year
3 ‐ 6 months
Less than 3 months
How long has it been since you lived in permanent stable housing? Demographics Page 2 of 7
Single Adults,
237, 80%
Families with
Children, 44,
15%
Single Youth and Young
Adults, 16, 5%
By Household Type
Man, 180, 61%
Woman/
Additional
Gender
Identities, 117,
39%
By Gender
Demographics Page 3 of 7
5%, 16
8%, 25
27%, 79
34%, 102
32%, 95
0 20
40 60
80 100
120
American Indian,
Alaska Native,
or Indigenous/ Other
Asian or
Asian American
Black, African
American, or African
Hispanic/
Latina/e/o
White (Non‐Hispanic/
Latina/e/o)
By Race and Ethnicity (Multiple Responses Allowed)
15%, 44
29%, 86
30%, 88
62%, 185
0 50 100 150 200
Drinking or Drug Use Cause Lose Housing
Mental Health or Brain Issues Affect Housing
Physical Disability Limit Housing Options
Homelessness caused by abuse or trauma
By Self‐Reported Disability/Vulnerability (VI‐SPDAT)
Demographics Page 4 of 7
Demographics for 8,614 Total VI‐SPDAT Assessments Completed in CY25 in Santa Clara County These charts provide information if you would like to compare individual city results with results for the entire county.
Note: Data not shown for groups with fewer than 11 respondents Permanent
Supportive
Housing, 5,273 ,
61%
Rapid
Rehousing,
2,810 , 33%
Minimal Range,
531 , 6%
SCC: By Level of Need (Based on VI‐SPDAT Score)
3%, 263
4%, 337
6%, 492
8%, 656
19%, 1,600
22%, 1,887
39%, 3,379
‐ 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 Other/ No Response
Transitional Housing
Jail
Couch Surfing
Shelters/ Safe Haven/ Hotel/ Motel/ Treatment Facility
Car/RV/Trailer/Van
Outdoors
SCC: Where do you sleep most frequently?
Demographics Page 5 of 7
1%, 61
62%, 5,357
13%, 1,101
8%, 657
6%, 549
9%, 737
2%, 152
‐ 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000
Data not collected
2 years or more
1 ‐ 2 years
6 months to 1 year
3 ‐ 6 months
1 week ‐ 3 months
Less than a week
SCC: How long has it been since you lived in permanent stable housing? 9%, 812
19%, 1,664
25%, 2,183
20%, 1,728
17%, 1,471
9%, 745
‐
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or Above By Age Tier
Single Adults,
6,790 , 79%
Families with
Children, 1,287
, 15%
Single Youth
and Young
Adults, 537 ,
6%
SCC: By Household Type (Based on VI‐SPDAT Type)
Demographics Page 6 of 7
Man, 5,237 ,
61%
Woman, 3,263
, 38%
Additional
Gender
Identities, 114
, 1%
SCC: By Gender
7%, 608 7%, 569
15%, 1,301
53%, 4,527
1%, 47 2%, 180
24%, 2,107
‐
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
5,000
American Indian,
Alaska Native,
or Indigenous
Asian or Asian
American
Black, African
American, or
African
Hispanic/
Latina/e/o
Middle Eastern
or
North African
Native Hawaiian
or
Pacific Islander
White (Non‐
Hispanic/
Latina/e/o)
SCC: By Race and Ethnicity (Multiple Responses Allowed) 27%, 2,356
29%, 2,525
35%, 3,009
67%, 5,757
‐ 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000
Drinking or Drug Use Cause Lose Housing
Physical Disability Limit Housing Options
Mental Health or Brain Issues Affect Housing
Homelessness caused by abuse or trauma
SCC: By Self‐Reported Disability/Vulnerability (VI‐SPDAT) Demographics Page 7 of 7
Notes and Definitions
• Enrollment and assessment data is from HMIS (Homeless Management Information System) • Inflow: First time a person/household completes a VI‐SPDAT assessment (Note that only the head of household of a household with children is instructed to take the Family VI‐SPDAT assessment) • Outflow: Households placed in permanent housing (a move‐in date in a housing program or an exit to a permanent housing destination from a non‐housing program). Total (Santa Clara County) numbers include HUD‐ VASH housing (PSH) placements but city‐level data does not include most HUD‐VASH clients (since city affiliation Notes about City Affiliation:
• City affiliation is based on client self‐reported data from 4 city affiliation questions (provided during an assessment) and one program enrollment field:
o In which city do you spend most of your time?
o Which city did you live in prior to becoming homeless? o If you are employed, in which city is your work place? o If you (or your children) go to school, in which city is your school? o Zip Code of last permanent address (Program Enrollment) • Zip Codes used in the analysis for the City of Palo Alto: 94301, 94302, 94303, 94304, 94306, 94309 • City affiliation for homeless inflow and Community Housing Queue data is based on VI‐SPDAT questions only. • City affiliation for housing placements is based on the most recent VI‐SPDAT assessment and program enrollment (zip code of last permanent address).
• City affiliation for most program enrollments is based on the most recent of any assessments that have a city affiliation questions (VI‐SPDAT, Community Hotline/Triage, Housing Problem Solving, Homelessness Prevention) and program enrollment (zip code of last permanent address). • City affiliation for Housing Problem Solving is based on the Housing Problem Solving Assessment 4 city • City affiliation for Homelessness Prevention is based on Zip code of current address at program enrollment. • Street Outreach enrollments do not include Safe Parking enrollments as they are reported separately. • Housing Problem Solving services include financial assistance, mediation, and attempts by case managers in person or by phone.
• Homelessness Prevention includes only HPS‐DH and HPS‐OSH (EAN) programs.
Note about Race and Ethnicity
With the new 2024 HMIS data standards, Race and Ethnicity is now one question (previously it was 2 questions) and Hispanic/Latina/e/o was added to the list of Race and Ethnicity options as well as Middle Eastern/North African. Clients may choose more than one race and ethnicity option. We show the responses for each race and consequently; the numbers do not add up to 100%.
Notes Page 1 of 1