Hundreds of city and county workers and volunteers fanned out across Maricopa County on Tuesday morning to survey unsheltered people for the annual Point-In-Time count.
These Point-In-Time counts are required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and are a key source of data on housing and homelessness trends nationally. Most cities nationwide participate every January in order to be eligible for federal funding to address homelessness.
The annual surveys have shown the homeless population in Maricopa County grew more than 40% over the last five years. Though, last year’s count showed growth among the population staying in homeless shelters and a slight decrease in the number of unsheltered people on the streets.
“For the first time in several years we saw more people in shelter than not in shelter, which is a big deal,” Brian Gruters, regional homelessness program manager for the Maricopa Association of Governments, told KJZZ News earlier this month. “The fact that that happened I think speaks to the city of Phoenix’s efforts and other communities in the region to put shelter into place when it was really needed.”
But challenges remain, Gruters said. And he expects this year’s Point-In-Time count will show Maricopa County’s overall population of sheltered and unsheltered homeless people is continuing to climb. Other data from the Maricopa Association of Governments shows people are becoming homeless at nearly twice the rate homeless people are finding housing in the Phoenix area. And homelessness is increasing nationwide.
“Nationally, we’ve seen this trend continue. The problem’s getting worse not better, so I think we’re bracing for more of the same, which is trending upwards,” Gruters said.
The results of this year’s count will be released in spring.
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Maricopa County has confirmed 230 heat-related deaths so far in 2026 — a 60% increase compared to the same point last year. Another 567 deaths are still under investigation. -
Summer in metro Phoenix is proving to be, yet again, one of the hottest on record.
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An extreme heat warning remains in effect through Sunday. High temperatures are expected to be above 110 degrees. Cooling centers across the Valley are seeing high demand. -
Phoenix budgeted $2.5 million annually for a new master lease program. The city's Office of Homeless Solutions will rent about 50 apartments and sublet those units to people coming out of shelters. -
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