Last year, New York spent about $81,000 per person living on the streets. For comparison, that’s nearly equal to the city’s median household income ($81,228) and almost twice what the city spends per public school student ($42k).
“Street homeless” refers to people who live permanently on the streets, rather than in shelters or temporary housing systems. Total spending on programs supporting this group reached $368 million and is projected to rise to $456 million by 2026.
Over the past six years, spending has more than tripled — from $102 million in 2019 (about $28,000 per person) to the current level. Meanwhile, the number of people living on the streets has increased by only 26%, from 3,588 in 2019 to 4,505 in 2025.
Overall, New York has about 140,000 homeless individuals — nearly 78% more than in 2019. The city provides some form of housing to about 97% of them. Nevertheless, the number of people living on the streets continues to rise, despite most homeless individuals being offered housing.
It’s unclear how much homeless individuals themselves feel this increase in funding compared to other cities and states, but it seems that those working in homeless services certainly notice the trend.
Source: nypost.com
