Since we began tracking these statistics in 2021, family homelessness in New York City has increased significantly, with an upward trend emerging in spring 2022. In January 2024, the total number of families staying in DHS shelters reached an all-time peak of 19,600. Despite fluctuations throughout the year and the implementation of “Good Cause” Eviction Laws in April 2024, the average number of families in shelter each night over the calendar year remained high at about 19,500—a 17% increase from 16,300 in 2023 and a 122% increase from 8,600 in 2021.
As 2025 progresses, we will continue to monitor developments in the census, updating our weekly tracker to chart the number of families with children in NYC DHS shelters. In October 2025, we launched our new interactive graph, which allows you to:
1. Select a date range to view data from 2021 to the present
2. Navigate between the number of Families as well as Children, Adults, and Individuals in families with children living in NYC DHS shelters (below the graph)
3. Hover over specific dates to see past data
4. Download or print the graph as a resource
All data comes from the Daily DHS Shelter Census: https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dhs/downloads/pdf/dailyreport.pdf
These Daily Reports are aggregated into a dataset here: https://data.cityofnewyork.us/Social-Services/DHS-Daily-Report/k46n-sa2m
