While an annual point-in-time count showed the D.C. region has seen a slight decline in homelessness, Arlington’s count increased by 12%.
The point-in-time count from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) is an annual snapshot tallying people experiencing homelessness around the region.
While the region saw an overall decrease in homelessness — from 9,774 last year to 9,659 this year — Arlington was one of four jurisdictions to see an increase in its homelessness count.
Arlington’s homelessness count has increased every year since at least 2021. Over the last year, that count increased from 243 in 2024 to 271 in 2025.
A COG report on the point-in-time count said Arlington’s incease in homelessness saw increases in both those in shelters and increases in family homelessness.
According to the report:
The 2025 PIT Count in Arlington County, Virginia illuminates the stark and grim reality that homelessness is on the rise. For the 4th year in a row, Arlington’s overall count increased from a record low of 171 people in 2021 during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, to 271 people in 2025. The PIT Count in 2025 reflects an overall increase in homelessness of 12% compared to 2024’s PIT Count. This year’s increase is largely driven by increases in sheltered homelessness (an increase of 10% and 22 people) and increases of family homelessness (an increase of 19% or 14 people).
The report said that the increase in sheltered homelessness demonstrated “Arlington County continues to rise to the challenge of assisting people experiencing homelessness” but that the community cannot keep pace with the increased demands for shelter without additional resources for permanent housing, employment services and rental assistance.
Neighboring Fairfax County also saw an increase, from 1,278 people in 2024 to 1,322 in 2025, while Alexandria’s count decreased from 187 to 166.
The largest increase in the region was in Montgomery County, where that snapshot increased from 1,144 people in 2024 to 1,510 in 2025.
Stefan Caine, committee chair and a representative of the Alexandria Department of Community and Human Services, said at the COG meeting today that many vulnerable populations are still struggling with factors like inflation, cost of living, and stagnant wages.
“Causation out of a singular data set is very tough, but clearly rising housing costs, inflation and stagnant wages make it tough for families to stay housed in our region,” Caine said.
In a release, COG said that homelessness has increased over the last five yeras in the region but remains below pre-COVID levels:
While homelessness in the region has increased over the past five years, the 2025 total remains below pre-COVID levels. During the pandemic and years of expanded federal aid and eviction moratoriums, the region documented lower levels of homelessness, including a record low in 2022. From 2021 to 2025, the metropolitan Washington region has observed a 19 percent increase in people experiencing homelessness, rising from 8,086 in 2021 to a total of 9,659 in 2025.
During the discussion, Elisabeth Young from the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness said one of COG’s goals should be better data collection and collaboration.
“To achieve a regional approach to addressing homelessness, we need the ability to share data across jurisdictions and in real time, not just for one-off initiatives like the point-in-time count, where we coordinate our data a little bit,” Young said. “We need a shared regional data warehouse.”
Young said better data collection could help create more efficient services.
“With a more integrated system, we can ensure people are connected to the right services more quickly, that resources are deployed more equitably, and that regional strategies are grounded in timely, person-centered information,” Young said.
Photo via Jon Tyson/Unsplash
