Who is homeless in Denver? Let’s look at the numbers.

Homelessness in Denver has become a top concern as tents line streets downtown, encampments have moved to the suburbs, and tens of thousands of Venezuelan migrants have arrived in the city throughout the year. 

Here’s a look at data that helps answer some of the most frequently asked questions about the homelessness crisis. 

Homeless population is growing

The latest official count of homelessness in the seven-county Denver metro area found that 9,065 people were sleeping either on the streets or in homeless shelters on a given night. The count happens on a designated night in January by swarms of volunteers and nonprofit workers who spread across the city and suburbs. The results of the 2023 count were alarming — but not all that shocking because homelessness has become so much more visible since the coronavirus pandemic. The homeless population grew 32% in a single year.

The sheltered count includes people living in homeless shelters, while the unsheltered count includes those living outside, with or without tents. 

Migrants added thousands to homeless population

That report did not include the Venezuelan migrants who had only just begun to arrive by busloads in the middle of winter. Denver leaders, with some financial support from the state and federal government, stood up emergency shelters in rec centers and hotels, meal service and other resources for the immigrants seeking asylum — keeping those resources separate from the infrastructure already in place to help the existing homeless population. 

But a federal report released last week included Denver’s new population of homeless migrants, bumping up the metro area’s homeless population on that night in January to 10,054. 

That ranked Denver as the city with the fifth-largest homeless population in the nation — behind only New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Diego.

Denver also ranked third nationally in the increase of homelessness in one year. And second in the largest increase, at 116%, in the number of homeless families with children. 

Majority were already living in Colorado

When not counting the recent influx of migrants, Denver’s homeless population is overwhelmingly from Colorado. This debunks a common misconception that most people living on Denver’s streets moved from out of state to take advantage of the social services, or as some suggested in the first years after Colorado became the first state to legalize marijuana, the easy access to pot. 

Data requested by The Sun from the Colorado Homeless Management Information System found that 88% of people who provided their last permanent address were living in Colorado just before becoming homeless.

People of color are overrepresented 

Demographic data collected by the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, which coordinates the annual count, has consistently found that people of color are significantly overrepresented in the region’s homeless population. The biggest outlier is the rate of homelessness among native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, which is 15 times that of their population in the area. Other racial groups are overrepresented, too, including Native Americans and Blacks.

Mental health, disabilities, domestic violence are linked to homelessness

Nearly one-third of people who are homeless in the Denver area report mental health issues, and about one-quarter report having addiction issues. The population also has a higher rate of physical disabilities, and more people report having experienced domestic violence than in the general population.

Youth homelessness is rising, too

Youth homelessness is rising in the Denver area. A growing segment of the homeless population in the city is teenagers who ran away from home or foster care, or were kicked out of their homes, sometimes for being LGBTQ. 

In the past five years, the number of unaccompanied homeless youth grew by 53%.

Tens of thousands of migrants arrive in Denver in one year

Migrants fleeing political unrest and poverty in Venezuela began arriving in Denver on Dec. 15, 2022. Since then, buses have come almost daily throughout the year, bringing an average of 85 newcomers to the city per day. An unknown number of migrants are making Colorado home. Here’s a look at the numbers for 2023.