The number of homeless people in the United States fell by more than 6% in 2025, a decline of roughly 49,000 individuals and the largest single-year drop in more than a decade, according to an annual count conducted in communities nationwide. The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the results Friday, marking the second consecutive year of decline after homelessness had climbed to record highs during the pandemic. Even with the improvement, nearly 700,000 people remain in shelters or on the streets, a figure still significantly higher than before COVID-19 upended the housing market and border enforcement. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner attributed the drop directly to President Trump's policies. "President Trump's actions to secure the border, get criminal illegals off our streets, and restore safety to our communities drove a historic decrease in homelessness," Turner said in a statement announcing the count. The administration points to the surge of asylum seekers during the Biden years, when New York, Chicago, Boston and Denver saw shelters overwhelmed by migrants. Devon Kurtz, public safety policy director at the Cicero Institute, which aligns with the administration on homelessness, said those four cities alone accounted for half of the recent decline. Kurtz also highlighted cities like San Francisco, which has moved to require sober-living options in permanent supportive housing, banning drugs and alcohol in some facilities. The administration argues such requirements help people achieve recovery and wants to expand them, though critics contend the rules can push relapsing individuals back onto the street. The White House has proposed overhauling several billion dollars in homelessness spending, shifting funds toward short-term housing with mandated addiction and mental health treatment. That plan has so far been blocked by federal courts. A separate analysis commissioned by the National Alliance to End Homelessness found a similar decline but credited different causes. CEO Ann Oliva said programs funded by Congress that move people into housing without preconditions are working, particularly for veterans. Homelessness among veterans fell more than 7% last year and has dropped nearly 60% since 2010. "It's good news that more people are getting housed, and that the programs that are funded by Congress are working," Oliva said. She acknowledged a small uptick in chronically homeless individuals, who are more likely to struggle with mental illness and addiction, and argued more permanent housing is needed for that population. Oliva also disputed the administration's emphasis on encampment bans, noting her group's analysis found cities with such bans fared worse than the national average. HUD credited a crackdown on homeless encampments following a 2024 Supreme Court ruling that allowed cities to prohibit sleeping and camping in public places. The agency also cited softer rental markets in some regions, with rents down from pandemic peaks, and disaster recovery efforts in western North Carolina and Hawaii that connected displaced and unsheltered people with assistance. The count offers a mixed picture: broad improvement driven by border enforcement, housing programs and market conditions, but persistent challenges among the chronically homeless and a total population still far above pre-pandemic levels.