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Preliminary results from this year’s federally mandated Point-in-Time count found 3,254 people experiencing homelessness in the Fresno-Madera region — including 1,619 unsheltered and 1,635 sheltered individuals — but officials cautioned against comparing the figures to previous years because of changes to the counting methodology.
Fresno has new numbers on how many homeless people live in the Fresno-Madera region – but while it looks like there’s been a decline, officials are careful not to call it a win.
Preliminary results from this year’s point-in-time count – a federally-mandated process – found 3,254 people experiencing homelessness, with 1,619 unsheltered individuals and 1,635 sheltered individuals.
But the region’s homelessness officials changed the way they count this year – and said that the numbers shouldn’t be compared to previous years.
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer didn’t declare victory, but said that the city has effectively eliminated encampments, using a definition of 10 or more people in one location for 10 or more days.
“Have we eliminated the homeless problem in Fresno? No, you can look around and you can see we still have people experiencing homelessness,” Dyer said.
Under the new survey-based approach, trained volunteers gather information from people experiencing homelessness, including barriers that led to their situation, like substance use, mental health challenges, experiences with domestic violence and where they were living before becoming homeless. Surveyors also collected information to help avoid counting the same person more than once. But participation was voluntary, and only people who opted in were counted.
It’s a departure from the former approach, led by the Fresno Housing Authority, that relied on a visual count conducted by volunteers on an evening usually in late January.
Dyer criticized the traditional Point-in-Time count process, arguing it relied too heavily on visual observations.
“Unfortunately, historically, the point in time count has not lent itself to either one of those, accuracy or timeliness,” he said. “Folks would drive by and try to do their very best, but see someone on the corner, not knowing if they’re really homeless or not, but maybe they appeared to be homeless, and so those folks may have been inadvertently categorized as homeless.”
Experts say there is no fully accurate way to count people experiencing homelessness, and point-in-time counts are typically considered an undercount, since it’s difficult to capture an accurate number of people who experience homelessness over the course of a year on a single night.
“Today’s release shouldn’t be viewed as a success or a failure,” Laura Moreno, chair of the Fresno-Madera Continuum of Care, said. “It should be viewed as a way to better coordinate and to collaborate amongst the stakeholders to provide better, more specific services to people experiencing homelessness.”
The data helps service providers identify emerging trends and direct resources where they are most needed, Moreno added. She pointed to a previous Point-in-Time count that found an increase in families with children experiencing homelessness. In response, local agencies expanded family-focused shelter beds and services.
Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez described speaking with an older man who became homeless after facing medical costs and a divorce, as well as a couple who had enough income to afford rent but lacked money for a security deposit and first month’s rent.
“That, to me, is the value of survey methodology,” Chavez said. “We’re right away better understanding the needs of our community and being able to respond more quickly.”
The data will still need to be certified by HUD before it can become official. However, the new counting method makes it so that the 2026 data will be considered the new baseline for homelessness record keeping across the region.
This week’s data drop also finally gives the Fresno-Madera region a more detailed picture of how much homelessness increased between 2023 and 2025, following the release of local data that for months awaited validation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Verified data released Monday showed a big increase in homelessness – 9.2% — between 2023 and 2025, even as California and the U.S. showed a decline in 2025.
If Fresno is truly experiencing a decline in homelessness in 2026, it would match current trends across California and the U.S.
In Orange County, the number of people who are homeless decreased by 13.7%. In San Francisco, the count declined by 4%.
But in some counties, it’s the complete opposite. Sacramento County reported 7,458 people experiencing homelessness in 2026, up by 12.7% in 2024.
The new data comes as cities and counties are under more scrutiny to reduce homelessness with fewer federal and state resources to make that happen.
Fresno has already closed two housing shelters at the end of 2025 due to declining funds. They’re converting others to permanent supportive housing at the requirement of California officials, a move inline with what experts say is needed to help make more permanent reductions in homelessness.
Local leaders have struggled whether to focus more on a prevention-oriented, ‘housing first’ strategy – like eviction protection programs and building more affordable and supportive housing – or to ramp up enforcement of camping bans, as Fresno has struggled to do effectively.
Dyer has called for additional resources in this year’s budget towards the creation of a second Homeless Assistance Response Team, or HART. The team has been criticized by some unhoused advocates for how they’ve dealt with people’s belongings.
Still, officials said the region’s homelessness response increasingly depends on collaboration among local governments, service providers, faith groups and nonprofit organizations.
“The era of people working in silos and doing things on their own is over,” Chavez said. “We are now collaborating. There’s nothing compassionate about leaving folks out in the street, and so we really want to make sure that we drive that point home for our community.”
As the Continuum of Care prepares for the 2027 Point-in-Time count, Moreno said organizers plan to refine the survey process, recruit additional volunteers and develop better ways to account for individuals who decline to participate.
