Total number of people experiencing homelessness in Fairfax County trending upward since 2017, mirroring regional and national trends
According to the data, there were 1,365 people experiencing homelessness in Fairfax County the night of the count (February 4, 2026). This is an increase of three percent (43 people) from the 2025 count in which there were 1,322 people identified as experiencing homelessness. The new Point-in-Time Count data continues an upward trend occurring since 2017, when the total count was 964 people; this is in line with national and regional homelessness trends.
The increase in 2026 is primarily driven by the higher number of adults accessing emergency shelters. The most significant increases occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the total count increased from 1,041 people in 2020 to 1,310 people in 2023 – an approximately 26 percent increase in three years. Since then, the total count has increased by four percent, with 55 additional people counted.
Fairfax County Point-in-Time Count data is available on the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness website.
About the Point-in-Time Count
The Point in Time Count is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is reported to the U.S. Congress to provide a nationwide estimate of homelessness, demographic information, service use patterns, and the capacity to house people experiencing homelessness.
Data from Fairfax County is also part of a regional analysis and annual report on homelessness by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) Homeless Services Planning and Coordinating Committee, presented to the COG Board of Directors on May 13. Concerned by the lack of regional data available, COG undertook the first effort to produce a Point-in-Time count of homeless adults and children in metropolitan Washington D.C. in 2001. See the report.
alllyson.pearce@fairfaxcounty.gov