How many people in Kitsap County are experiencing homelessness, who they are, why they lost housing, and how the community is responding. This page brings together the County’s reports and data and shows how Kitsap compares with Washington State.
Kitsap County Department of Human Services, Housing and Homelessness Division · Last reviewed October 2026
Each figure is labeled with the source it comes from. The sources count different things, so the numbers are not meant to add up. Capturing counts and methods explains each one.
were counted experiencing homelessness on January 29, 2026, including 230 living without shelter. The total was down 15% from 645 in 2025.
asked the Housing Solutions Center for help in 2025. 972 were literally homeless and 1,699 were at risk of losing their home.
were served by Kitsap’s homeless response system in 2025, from eviction prevention to shelter and permanent housing.
were identified as homeless or unstably housed by Kitsap school districts in the 2025–26 school year, including students whose families are doubled up with others.
of households entering shelter or transitional housing in 2025 had not received homeless services in the previous two years (853 households).
of unsheltered households who gave a last address had stable housing in Kitsap County before becoming homeless.
No single count captures everyone who experiences homelessness. Each source below measures something different, over a different period, using its own definition.
About the Point-in-Time Count: participation is voluntary and depends on finding people, so the count misses many people experiencing homelessness. Results also shift with weather, shelter beds available that night and volunteer turnout, so compare years with care. The Department of Commerce notes that the PIT count is not the most reliable estimate of homelessness and uses its Snapshot report for statewide estimates.
The one-night count rose from 517 people in 2017 to a high of 647 in 2025, then fell to 551 in 2026. The number of people living unsheltered in Kitsap County nearly doubled between 2018 and 2025, from 149 to 297, then dropped 23% to 230 in 2026, close to the 2022–2024 average. Emergency shelter grew from 169 people in 2017 to 266 in 2025 as shelters added beds and stayed open around the clock, while transitional housing fell from 183 to 94.
People counted experiencing homelessness on one night in January, 2017–2026
Kitsap County Point-in-Time Count. Hover over a column for its values.
Coming change: in 2025 the Legislature moved Washington’s unsheltered count to every other year, matching the federal requirement. The January 2027 count will cover people in shelters and transitional housing; counties may choose to also count people living unsheltered. The next required unsheltered count is January 2028, but an unsheltered count is still anticipated for 2027.
Other trends from the County’s data:
Homelessness in Kitsap looks different from the image many people hold. People experiencing homelessness in Kitsap may be single men or women, couples, or families. Most people seeking help are single adults, many have no income, and most were housed in Kitsap before they lost their home.
More than half of the people counted were in shelter or transitional housing
551 people counted on January 29, 2026
Why people lost their housing
Unsheltered households, 2026. People could give more than one reason.
Health conditions and disabilities
Unsheltered heads of household, 2026. People could report more than one.
Where people living unsheltered were surveyed
230 people in 190 households, January 2026
Source: Housing Solutions Center Quick Facts, 2025 (PDF) and the 2025 data sheet (PDF). Health conditions are self-reported by the head of household.
People of color experience homelessness in Kitsap at rates far above their share of the population. Black residents made up nearly 10% of people seeking housing help and 12% of people in emergency shelter in 2024, but about 2% of the county’s population. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander residents experienced homelessness at five to six times their share of the population, and American Indian and Alaska Native residents at about 2.5 times. Because Black, Indigenous and other households of color in Kitsap are more likely to rent, rising rents hit them hardest.
Source: 2025–2030 Kitsap Homeless Housing Plan (PDF), pages 10 and 13 and Appendix B.
Kitsap County is one of 34 smaller counties in the Washington Balance of State Continuum of Care, for which the Department of Commerce coordinates the Point-in-Time Count and federal homeless funding. Between 2022 and 2026, Kitsap’s one-night count grew more slowly than the state’s, and in 2026 it fell.
Change in the one-night count since 2022
Percent change from each area’s 2022 Point-in-Time Count
Sources: Kitsap figures from the 2025 PIT Overview (PDF), 2024 data sheet (PDF) and Homeless Housing Plan (PDF). Washington figures from Commerce, Homelessness in Washington, 2025 report (PDF) (external link), and OSPI, Data on Students Experiencing Homelessness (PDF) (external link)(2025 report to the Legislature). Renter figures come from different surveys and years, so compare them loosely.
Source: Commerce, Homelessness in Washington, 2025 report (PDF) (external link). For county-by-county rates, see the Department of Health Housing and Homelessness dashboard and the Commerce County Report Card.
More than 50 organizations make up Kitsap’s homeless response system, from eviction prevention and outreach to shelter and permanent housing. The Housing and Homelessness Division page explains how a household moves through it.
were kept from becoming homeless.
left the response system for permanent, stable housing.
of 275 households who moved into housing two years earlier had not returned to homelessness.
qualified for help at the Housing Solutions Center but could not be served because no funding was available.
Sources: 2025 Division Annual Report, page 12; HSC Quick Facts, 2025.
Includes programs funded by other sources. Source: 2025 Division Annual Report.
Programs reporting to HMIS. Voucher and seasonal beds vary through the year, and motel voucher funding decreased starting July 2025. Source: Homeless Housing Plan, Table 3.
Programs funded by the state’s Consolidated Homeless Grant must meet or move toward statewide performance targets, and outcomes must be similar for every racial and ethnic group.
State targets for permanent supportive housing (95% stay housed or move to other permanent housing) and prevention (95% do not enter the homeless system within six months) are also set. Kitsap figures count households exiting to stable housing and include all shelter types. Sources: Commerce, Housing Outcome Performance Measures2024 Kitsap Homeless Response System Dashboard.
Housing costs less than a jail or prison bed
Approximate cost per person per day, Washington
In 2025 the community referred 436 sites to HEART, the team made about 4,550 site visits and 190 people moved into shelter.
In its first year, 2025, the 75-bed Port Orchard shelter served 237 adults and children and 54 pets. 64 people moved into permanent housing, and the average stay was 118 days.
During the 2025–26 season, shelters in Kingston, Silverdale and Port Orchard opened on 16 days and provided 339 overnight stays.
In 2025, 467 low-income households kept their housing with help from Kitsap Community Resources. From 2020 to 2023, the pandemic-era KEPA program distributed $36.7 million to 4,230 households.
Under the Growth Management Act, Kitsap County and its four cities must plan for homes for every income level, including permanent supportive housing and emergency housing for people experiencing homelessness. By 2044 they must plan for 2,760 new permanent supportive housing units, 6,290 other new homes for households earning 30% of area median income or less, and 1,390 new emergency housing beds.
In 2020, Kitsap had about 114 permanent supportive housing units and 481 emergency housing beds. Meeting the 2044 target means adding about 115 supportive housing units a year. The plan’s five-year estimate for 2025–2030 is 414 supportive housing units, 945 other homes at 0–30% of area median income and 207 emergency housing beds.
Source: Homeless Housing Plan, Table 4, based on the Countywide Planning Policies (March 2024) and the Commerce Housing for All Planning Tool. The five-year estimate uses 15% of the 2044 allocation. For homes at every income level, see the Affordable Housing reports page.
Status as of December 2025. Source: Homeless Housing Plan, pages 18–19.
Spending on homeless housing and services in Kitsap totaled about $23.1 million in state fiscal year 2024: $9.5 million from federal sources, $8.5 million from the state and $5.2 million from local sources. That was up from $17.5 million the year before, largely because of one-time federal pandemic funds that kept extra shelter beds open; those funds ended in 2024. The Division itself invests about $10 million a year in local nonprofit programs.
Not every dollar from these sources goes to homelessness, though there is overlap in populations served by these funding sources. Sources: Homeless Housing Plan (PDF), Table 2 and Figure 12 (Commerce Estimates of Service Levels tool); 2025 Division Annual Report (PDF). Statewide project spending is in the Commerce Annual Expenditure Report (“The Golden”).
Learn more about each program on the Division page, the Community Investments in Affordable Housing page and the Coordinated Grant Application Process page.
Kitsap County reports are listed newest first, with earlier editions alongside. Earlier editions are kept for reference and are not updated. All files are PDFs unless otherwise noted.
Help survey people during the Point-in-Time Count each January, or staff a Severe Weather Shelter on the coldest nights.
Join the Kitsap Housing and Homelessness Coalition, a network of more than 50 housing and service organizations. Read How You Can Help People Living Homeless (PDF).
Homes people can afford are the lasting answer to homelessness. See how to speak up for affordable housing.
Sign up for Housing and Homelessness email updates, including new reports and Point-in-Time results.
Questions about this data? Contact Cory Derenburger, Division Specialist, Housing and Homelessness Division, at 360-337-7287 or cderenbu@kitsap.gov.
When figures are updated: Point-in-Time results each spring; Housing Solutions Center Quick Facts and the data sheet each May; the Division Annual Report each summer; system dashboards each quarter. Commerce publishes statewide results each summer.
Return to the Housing and Homelessness Division
This content includes minor contributions generated with the assistance of AI tools
