King County report: unsheltered homelessness rose 26% countywide; North King County has fewer beds

Janelle Rothwerk, senior research and data director at the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, told the Kenmore City Council the authority’s 2024 point-in-time report found a 26% increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness in King County between 2022 and 2024. The report, Rothwerk said, shows a persistent roughly 60/40 split between unsheltered people (those living outside, in vehicles or makeshift shelters) and those in emergency or transitional shelter programs.

The report matters because it provides a countywide, methodologically consistent count that officials and providers can use for planning and resource allocation. “The goal of putting together a very large report is for you all, policymakers, to use it in your strategic planning for local government about resource priorities and policies and initiatives,” Rothwerk said.

Rothwerk told council members that countywide findings include: a 26% increase in total homelessness from 2022 to 2024, a 40/60 sheltered-to-unsheltered split, and significant health burdens among people who are unsheltered. The report found 51% of respondents reported a significant disability; 34% reported serious mental illness; 47% reported a substance use disorder; and 17% cited domestic violence as a cause of their homelessness. Men made up the majority of the unsheltered population, the presentation said.

Rothwerk said North King County has relatively fewer shelter beds than demand requires. For the January count the presentation used, North King County had 198 shelter beds available, 170 people in sheltered programs that night and an estimated 1,730 people unsheltered in the subregion. The authority also reported a high share of chronic homelessness in North King County: the chronic population comprised about 81% of people experiencing homelessness in that subregion, compared with roughly 66% countywide.

Rothwerk described methodology: the authority paired respondent-driven sampling surveys with shelter data and a modeling process to estimate totals. She said the sampling approach used in 2022 and 2024 generally provides greater demographic fidelity than a street-count-only approach, and answered council questions that the survey-based method is considered a lesser undercount than canvass-only counts.

Council members asked for clarification about how much the survey reduces undercount risk and about the subregional patterns. Council member Culver asked whether the respondent-driven method is still an undercount; Rothwerk said it is, “to a lesser degree,” and that the method gives greater confidence in both totals and demographic breakdowns. Council member Marshall and others discussed how the subregion’s higher unsheltered ratio points to a local shortage of shelter and urged follow-up planning.

Rothwerk outlined policy recommendations the authority included in the report: expand shelter options matched to expressed needs, increase throughput from existing shelter beds into stable housing, develop upstream prevention strategies (particularly for youth), prioritize disability and mental-health services for chronically homeless people, and maintain a regional, equity-focused approach to service distribution. She also said the authority is preparing for the 2026 count and testing methods to better reach subpopulations, including unaccompanied minors.

The presentation and subsequent council discussion did not include an action vote by the city council; Rothwerk said the authority will continue to share reports and methodology updates for local planning.