Maricopa County’s January 27 point-in-time count mobilizes volunteers to measure homelessness across the Valley

A single-morning snapshot designed to guide resources

Before dawn on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, volunteers are scheduled to spread across Maricopa County for the annual point-in-time (PIT) homelessness count, a coordinated effort to estimate how many people are experiencing homelessness on a single night. The count is designed to capture both people staying in shelters and those sleeping in places not meant for human habitation, such as streets, parks, encampments, and other outdoor or improvised locations.

The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) coordinates the count for the region’s Continuum of Care, the network of agencies and public partners that plans and delivers homelessness services and competes for federal homelessness assistance funding. PIT results are used in required reporting and in local planning, including decisions about shelter capacity, outreach needs, and service targeting.

Youth homelessness will be measured over multiple weeks

In addition to the one-day PIT operation, the region is also running a specialized count focused on youth homelessness that extends beyond January 27 and continues into mid-February. The longer window is intended to reach young people who may not be found in the same locations as adults or families and who may avoid traditional service touchpoints.

Organizers have indicated the youth-focused effort is meant to improve the accuracy of the youth tally and to better identify service needs, recognizing that youth homelessness can be undercounted in a single-night approach.

Recent results show an increase, with unsheltered numbers rising faster

The most recently released countywide PIT results show 9,734 people were counted experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County during the January 2025 count. The figures reflect a year-over-year increase, with growth driven by a larger rise in the unsheltered population than in the sheltered population. The 2025 results also show the counted population skewed older, with adults aged 25 and above representing the large majority.

Local reporting tied the 2025 increase to reduced availability of some temporary shelter capacity and continued housing affordability pressures. Those factors are among the conditions that local service systems monitor as they plan shelter operations, outreach routes, and housing placements.

How the count is conducted, and what it can and cannot measure

PIT counts are not a full census of everyone who experiences homelessness over a year. Instead, they are a point-in-time estimate that relies on trained volunteers, coordinated deployment areas, standardized definitions, and review processes before results are finalized. People who are temporarily doubled up with friends or family are generally not included under the standard PIT definitions used for federal reporting.

Even with those limitations, the annual count is a central benchmark for tracking changes over time. It helps communities assess where homelessness is most visible, where outreach is needed, and how shelter and housing interventions may be affecting unsheltered and sheltered populations.

• Date of the countywide count: January 27, 2026 (early morning)
• Scope: sheltered and unsheltered homelessness across Maricopa County
• Youth component: extended count running from late January into mid-February
• Most recent published figure: 9,734 people counted in January 2025

The count is structured as a one-night snapshot, repeated annually, to support consistent measurement and planning across the region.