Chicago homelessness fell — but the real count is much higher
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The number of unhoused people in Chicago has declined over the last decade, but advocates worry federal policies could reverse that trajectory.
The big picture: A new report from the Chicago Coalition to end Homelessness (CCH) details how the federal government's definition of people experiencing homelessness greatly underestimates the number, leading to less funding and fewer resources.
- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines homelessness as people living in shelters, on the street and in places not meant for habitation, while CCH says a more accurate description includes anyone without regular, adequate housing, such as sleeping on someone's couch or "doubling up."
Reality check: Many government agencies, both federal and local, also assess people experiencing homelessness through a Point-in-Time Count (PIT), which is only one night counting unhoused people visibly on the streets or shelters.
The other side: Axios reached out to HUD to learn why it doesn't count people "doubled up" but they did not provide a response.
By the numbers: CCH estimates that 58,625 people experienced homelessness in Chicago in 2024.
- Nearly 20,000 of those people stay in shelters or on the streets, with more than 39,000 "doubled up."
- Black people overwhelmingly represent the demographic experiencing homelessness — more than 12,000 on the streets and more than 20,000 doubled up.
- The next highest group is Latinos, with about 2,600 in shelters or on the streets and about 12,700 doubled up.
Startling stats: Compared to the general Illinois population, people experiencing homelessness disproportionately died in outdoor or in other informal settings, such as abandoned buildings (19.6% vs. 0.6%), with 89 deaths occurring on public transportation, according to a recent Illinois Department of Public Health report.
- Cold exposure was a contributing cause of death for 112 people experiencing homelessness, with an additional 6,930 cold injuries treated in the hospital setting, from 2017-2023.
The latest: Congress last week passed a spending bill that appropriated $7.2 billion more to HUD than its funding in 2025.
- Housing advocates say the increase is a good sign, but some fear, based on past funding stops and stalls by the Trump administration, that appropriating funds is not the same as delivering.
- "Are they going to change conditions of your program overnight and then change their minds again?" Bob Palmer, policy director of the nonprofit Housing Action Illinois, told Crain's.
What they're saying: "A lot of rhetoric that surrounds people who are experiencing homelessness is that we deserve it," Evie Alexander, a CCH board member, said at a recent event about the organization's report. "I didn't deserve to have to continue to go through homelessness for a prolonged period, which could have been avoided had I been eligible for a program that would have helped me earlier on."
- "I encourage policymakers to think about the concept of a home and what having a home really means."