Homelessness drops 26% from 2025 to 2026 in Montgomery County

County officials say new short-term rental housing program contributed to decrease in unhoused families

May 14, 2026 11:46 a.m.

Councilmember Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5), Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Dist. 20) and Paloma Arroyo-LeFebre of Bethesda Cares interview an unhoused person during a point-in-time count on January 29. Photo credit: Ginny Bixby

The number of people experiencing homelessness in Montgomery County dropped by 26% compared to the same time last year, according to a regional homelessness report released Wednesday by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

“This year, we clearly could see we made progress in housing families,” Christine Hong, chief of the county’s Services to End and Prevent Homelessness, told Bethesda Today on Wednesday. According to the report, the county saw a 47% reduction in the number of people in families experiencing homelessness.

From 2025 to 2026, the number of reported unhoused people decreased by 390 people from 1,510 to 1,120, according to the report, the largest recorded drop in the region. Other neighboring jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia, Loudoun County in Virginia and Prince George’s County, reported increases of 4%, 25% and 29%, respectively, from 2025 to 2026, according to the report.

Data analyzed in the report was collected by the Council of Governments as part of the county’s annual point-in-time homelessness survey on Feb. 4. The survey, which aims to provide a snapshot of the number of people experiencing homelessness on one given night, is typically scheduled for the last week in January. The survey was delayed this year following winter storm Fern, which dropped about a foot of snow and a thick layer of ice across the region, creating hazardous travel conditions, the report said.

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The point-in-time count is conducted almost entirely by teams of volunteers led by leaders who work for local nonprofits. Teams are assigned to different geographical regions around the county and are tasked with checking areas where unhoused individuals may be spending the night. If a person is present, volunteers ask them questions about their demographics and experiences with homelessness.

The point-in-time count is not entirely reflective of all people who are experiencing homelessness in one year, Hong said, but it is an essential tool to examine the issue.

“It is a one-night count, so it doesn’t reflect all of the context involved in each year,” Hong said. “Taken together with year-round data, we can analyze [the PIT count data] to see where we need to focus our efforts more and where we’re making progress.”

This year’s decrease in homelessness is a stark contrast to the 32% increase seen from 2024 to 2025. However, the data still represents a 73% increase in unhoused people in the county from 2019 and accounts for about 1% of the county’s total population, according to the report.

Short-term rental housing program shows results

County officials have attributed the decline in homelessness, especially for families, in part to its Short-term Housing and Resolution Program (SHaRP), which was launched in early 2025. During an April 29 virtual media briefing with Hong and County Executive Marc Elrich, the officials touted the success of the program in reducing the number of unhoused families by helping more than 300 households find permanent housing.

The program provides families with a security deposit, first-month rent, additional rental subsidy and help finding an apartment, according to the county Department of Health and Human Services. Elrich also noted that SHaRP helps avoid placing families in temporary motel rooms, which is less cost-effective for the county and taxpayers, he said.

SHarP “gives families [the] breathing room they need to live while they stabilize their lives and they’re living in a home rather than a shelter or motel,” Elrich said. “By moving families into permanent housing faster, we reduce the trauma of homelessness for children, and we save the taxpayers from the higher costs of the long-term emergency shelters we use.”

Hong told Bethesda Today on Wednesday that the county should continue to focus on housing people as quickly as possible and invest less in temporary housing solutions.

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“We have to have emergency shelters, but that is a temporary solution. It will not end the experience of homelessness for anyone,” Hong said. “Montgomery County investing in housing programs like SHaRP is a really important step to take, and we need to continue those efforts because that’s how we can get to reductions.”

Hong also emphasized that the county must continue investing in eviction prevention resources. Households in need of such resources can contact 311 to access “housing stabilization services” from the county, she said.

“Both of those interventions, housing and prevention efforts, are more cost-effective than paying for emergency shelter,” Hong added. “That’s not to say we shouldn’t have emergency shelter. We should. It’s just something that we want to continually try to reduce the need for by investing in housing and prevention.”

Elrich hopes to continue funding for SHaRP into the 2027 fiscal year and expand the program to help chronically homeless adults, he said during the April 29 briefing. He noted that the county saw a 14% increase in chronically homeless adults from 2025 to 2026.

Housing costs and federal layoffs

One of the main driving factors of homelessness in the county and the region, according to the report, is the high cost of living, particularly housing costs.

“Housing costs … have surged, as median home prices and rents have outpaced wage growth, creating significant financial stress for low- and moderate-income households,” the report states. “As housing consumes an increasingly disproportionate share of household income, families and individuals face greater risk of housing instability, eviction, and ultimately homelessness.”

The strong correlation of high housing costs and homelessness underscores the “critical need for housing interventions that address cost barriers,” the report states. While jurisdictions such as Montgomery County have been working to create development incentives to boost housing construction, the report said that housing production in the region has not kept pace with the Council of Governments’ housing targets.

Set in 2019, the council of governments has targeted a goal of producing 320,000 new housing units in the region by 2030, according to the report. The goal for Montgomery County is 41,000 housing units by 2030.

“The region’s ability to produce and preserve affordable housing at a greater rate than the past remains a crucial factor for reducing homelessness and enhancing housing stability across metropolitan Washington,” the report states.

“There simply are not enough deeply affordable housing units available. That’s the reality of the county,” Elrich said at the April 29 briefing.

Another issue that may have an impact on future homelessness in the county is federal layoffs that have impacted tens of thousands of county residents. Hong told Bethesda Today that anecdotally, she has seen a small number of former federal workers who live in the county access homeless resources.

“We haven’t seen a large number of federal workers entering homelessness yet; however, we expect that with the Medicaid and food stamps that that will be a factor in the future,” Hong said.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine