Report: Pandemic Significantly Increased Multnomah County’s Homeless Population

The number of people identified as homeless increased 30% from 2019 to 2022, according to a recently released report from the Multnomah County Joint Office of Homeless Services.

As part of a federally required annual survey, more than 2,000 people facing homelessness were asked if COVID-19 was a reason for their homelessness. Twenty-four percent of them answered “yes.” 

The most recent count, conducted on Jan. 26, 2022, found that 5,228 people in Portland and Multnomah County were experiencing homelessness, of which 58.5% were unsheltered, 28.4% were in emergency shelters, and 13.1% were in transitional housing. 

Although Black, Indigenous and other people of color represent just 34.3% of the Multnomah County population, 38.9% of the homeless people surveyed identified as BIPOC. 

Source: 2022 Point-in-Time Count of People Experiencing HUD Homelessness in Portland/Gresham/Multnomah County, Oregon on January 26, 2022 | Multnomah County Joint Office of Homeless Services

The data mostly likely represents only a portion of the unsheltered population in Portland, the report notes, citing the difficulty of “finding and surveying everyone who is living unsheltered in a week’s time.”

Read the full report here.