Does 80% of the homeless population in the US avoid shelters?

Between 2007 and 2020, the percentage of the homeless population in the U.S. that was unsheltered fluctuated between 30% and 40%, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

The most direct reason for unsheltered homelessness is that there are more homeless people than shelters. In 2020, there were around 580,000 homeless people but a shelter capacity of only 354,000.

Homeless individuals may also be turned away from a shelter if they have a pet, a child, a job that requires them to be out past curfew, or are perceived as potentially harmful to themselves or others.

Some avoid shelters voluntarily due to safety concerns, inflexible rules, mistreatment by staff, poor quality resources such as food and bedding, or because they prefer the communal nature of street encampments to the shelter environment.

In a 2021 survey that asked homeless individuals what it would take for them to get off the streets, the most frequent answer was permanent, individual housing.