Does each chronically homeless person cost taxpayers $30,000 to $50,000 per year? | Fact brief

Each chronically homeless person costs taxpayers $30,000 to $50,000 per year, according to the most recently available data from government agencies and advocacy groups.

The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness noted in 2016 that each person experiencing chronic homelessness costs taxpayers as much as $30,000 to $50,000 annually. Nonprofit policy group Results for America attributed those costs primarily to “interactions with the healthcare and criminal-legal systems.”

A 2017 National Alliance to End Homelessness report found that each chronically homeless person cost taxpayers $35,578 per year. It said those costs could be cut in half by placing them in supportive housing.

Catholic Charities USA says people experiencing long-term or repeated homelessness make up about 22% of the homeless population.

The Maine State Housing Authority’s 2025 Point in Time Count recorded 549 chronically homeless Mainers, up from 494 a year earlier.