A startling trend has hit Santa Clara County over the past two years — more people have fallen into homeless for the first time and can’t find a way out.
Santa Clara County’s 2025 point-in-time count found 4,650 people have been homeless for a year or longer, with a disabling condition that makes maintaining work or housing difficult, known as chronic homelessness. That’s a 21% increase from 2023, when there were 3,833 chronically homeless residents county-wide.
The county surveyed 1,534 people as part of the report to better understand their circumstances. The loss of a job or income is the primary reason people report becoming homeless, at 27%. Divorce or breakups are also contributors at 17%, and 12% of people report becoming homeless due to an eviction or rent increase.
The county’s homeless population has risen to 10,711 in the past two years, up 8.1% from 2023, while chronic homelessness has gone up 53% during that two-year period.
Over the past decade, the county’s total homelessness has gone up 63.3%.
Experts and advocates have warned that Silicon Valley’s high cost of living makes it difficult to find an affordable apartment or retain housing. The rise in chronic homelessness further emphasizes the problem.
This story reflects a San José Spotlight breakdown of this data.
San Jose, the county’s largest city with just under 1 million residents, had a homeless population increase of 3.8% in the past two years, going from 6,266 people in 2023 to 6,503 this year.
Cupertino has 58,886 residents according to the 2023 American Community Survey, but saw the largest percent increase, with its homeless population more than doubling since 2023 from 48 people to 101. Campbell, with 42,895 residents, had a smaller increase of 17.4%, from 92 in 2023 to 108 in 2025.
Five West Valley jurisdictions — Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Saratoga and Monte Sereno — are exploring ways to provide support services for homeless residents, as there are few resources in the area and no shelter. These five municipalities saw a combined 15% increase, from 221 people in 2023 to 255 in 2025.
North County cities also saw large increases over the past two years. Palo Alto’s homeless population doubled from 206 people in 2023 to 418 in 2025. Mountain View had a 56.4% increase from 562 people in 2023 to 879 in 2025.
In the same two years, South County’s homeless population shrank. Gilroy saw a 8.5% decrease, from 1,048 people in 2023 to 959 in 2025. Morgan Hill had an even larger decrease, from 230 people in 2023 to 69 in 2025.
Over the past decade, however, the impact of rising costs of living and housing inaccessibility have become even more clear. Most cities have seen substantial increases in their homeless populations, with Los Gatos having the biggest growth, going from 1 in 2015 to 27 in 2025. Los Altos, Milpitas, Morgan Hill and the county’s unincorporated areas have seen fluctuations in their numbers.
As the population increases, more support services are being launched, though most are at capacity. The county is poised to spend more than $122 million on homelessness support services, including rental assistance, case management and homeless shelters. Across county and city owned shelters, there’s one bed for every three homeless residents.
San Jose plans to open 12 new or expanded homeless shelters that’ll provide more than 1,300 beds, including at the city’s first safe sleeping site. The county is also working to open two more shelters — a 135-bed shelter in Palo Alto and a 30-family shelter in Santa Clara.
B. Sakura Cannestra is a freelance reporter who previously worked at San José Spotlight through the California Local News Fellowship. Contact her at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.
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