NYC Triples Unsheltered Homeless Spending to $368M Amid Rise

New York City has tripled its spending on services for unsheltered homeless individuals since 2019, reaching nearly $368 million in fiscal year 2025, even as the number of people living on the streets rose by 26 percent, according to a report from the New York State Comptroller's Office.

The report details that the unsheltered population grew from 3,588 in fiscal year 2019 to 4,504 in fiscal year 2025. Unsheltered individuals are defined as those whose nighttime residence is in places not meant for human habitation, such as sidewalks, parks, subway stations, abandoned buildings or cars. Over the same period, city spending on outreach, placement and related programs surged 262 percent from $102 million, averaging about $81,700 per unsheltered person in 2025. That figure is slightly higher than the city's median household income of $81,228, based on 2024 census data.

The overall homeless population in New York City has also climbed sharply, increasing 78 percent since 2019 to approximately 140,000 people. Despite the rise in street homelessness, about 97 percent of the city's homeless residents are placed in some form of shelter, a rate higher than in many other major cities. For...