Homeless students statistics show that U.S. public schools identified 1,548,191 children and youth experiencing homelessness (CYEH) in school year 2023–24. That was 3.2% of public-school enrollment, and the identified total was higher than in either of the two preceding school years. These figures use the McKinney-Vento definition: students lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
In this article
- National counts and state differences
- Primary nighttime residence
- Age and grade distribution
- Unaccompanied youth
- Student subgroups and race or ethnicity
- Attendance, early childhood, and graduation
National counts and state differences
The national count rose across the three measured school years. Public schools identified 1,205,311 CYEH in 2021–22, 1,374,537 in 2022–23, and 1,548,191 in 2023–24. The 2023–24 total was 12.6% higher than the 2022–23 count and 28.5% higher than the 2021–22 count. These are identified students, not a census of every child experiencing homelessness.
The comparison covered all 53 states and territories included in the report, and every one reported an increase in CYEH between 2021–22 and 2023–24. The national 2023–24 total includes the Bureau of Indian Education, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; territories are excluded from national metrics where the report specifies that limitation.
State totals and state shares can tell different stories because enrollment sizes differ. California reported 286,853 CYEH, equal to 4.9% of its public-school enrollment, in 2023–24. New York reported 186,994 CYEH, equal to 7.4% of its public-school enrollment in the same school year. Thus, California had the larger identified count, while New York had the larger identified share among these two states.
| Measure | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identified CYEH | 1,205,311 | 1,374,537 | 1,548,191 |
| National share of enrollment | — | — | 3.2% |
| Unaccompanied youth | 110,664 | 123,972 | 127,848 |
| Chronically absent CYEH | 632,129 | 685,490 | 738,244 |
Source for the table and the statistics in this article: Education of Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness in the United States: Data Summary for School Years 2021–22 to 2023–24 (National Center for Homeless Education, published February 2026).
Primary nighttime residence
Residence categories describe a student’s primary nighttime residence at identification. They do not describe every place a student may have stayed during a school year. In 2023–24, 1,150,630 CYEH were identified as doubled up, meaning they were staying with other people because of loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason. The doubled-up count was 25.7% higher than the 915,578 recorded in 2021–22.
Shelters and transitional housing accounted for 196,812 CYEH in 2023–24, a 50.2% increase from 2021–22. The comparable shelter and transitional-housing count was 155,643 in 2022–23. Hotels and motels accounted for 132,010 students in 2023–24, up 23.8% from 106,621 in 2021–22.
The unsheltered category included 67,536 CYEH in 2023–24, up 31.2% from 51,483 in 2021–22. The category covers students whose primary nighttime residence was an unsheltered location under the reporting framework. Because the report uses administrative identification, a lower count in a category should not be read as proof that the underlying housing situation is less severe or that every student was identified.
The residence figures show why a single image of homelessness can be misleading. Doubled-up housing was the largest reported category in both measured years, while shelter and transitional-housing counts increased by the largest stated percentage among the listed categories. Hotels, motels, and unsheltered locations also rose between 2021–22 and 2023–24.
Age and grade distribution
The report includes children ages 3 through 5, kindergarten through grade 13, and ungraded students in the CYEH totals. The number of CYEH ages 3 through 5 reached 57,176 in 2023–24, a 47.1% increase from 2021–22. This age group is distinct from the early-childhood subgrant population described later, because the subgrant measure covers children from birth through age 5 who were not enrolled in kindergarten.
Among elementary grades, the 2023–24 counts were 126,433 kindergarteners, 121,823 first graders, 123,623 second graders, 116,934 third graders, and 116,349 fourth graders. Compared with 2021–22, those counts increased by 35.3%, 38.3%, 34.6%, 26.6%, and 27.1%, respectively.
The report recorded 111,349 homeless sixth graders in 2023–24, up 26.2% from 2021–22. At the high-school level, 128,951 ninth graders were identified, a 27.8% increase; 109,014 tenth graders were identified, a 31.6% increase; and 107,914 twelfth graders were identified, a 16.0% increase.
These grade-level figures are counts of identified students, not a rate for every student in that grade. They also should not be summed with the national total as though the listed grades were the complete distribution: the national total includes ungraded students, ages 3–5, and kindergarten through grade 13, while this article highlights selected reported groups.
Unaccompanied youth
Unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness (UYEH) are a distinct population within the broader CYEH count. The number of UYEH was 110,664 in 2021–22, 123,972 in 2022–23, and 127,848 in 2023–24. The 2023–24 total was 15.5% higher than the 2021–22 total. UYEH represented 8.3% of all CYEH in 2023–24.
Doubled-up housing was the reported residence for 107,986 UYEH in 2023–24, or 84.5% of UYEH. Shelters and transitional housing accounted for 12,277 UYEH, or 9.6%. Hotels and motels accounted for 2,887, or 2.3%, while unsheltered locations accounted for 4,692, or 3.7%.
The shelter and transitional-housing count for UYEH rose from 9,819 in 2021–22 to 12,277 in 2023–24, an increase of 41.9%. The four residence percentages above describe the 2023–24 UYEH distribution and should not be applied to the broader CYEH population. They also describe primary nighttime residence at identification, not a complete longitudinal record of housing.
Student subgroups and race or ethnicity
Several reported subgroups overlap. A student can therefore be represented in more than one subgroup category, and subgroup percentages should not be added together to produce a total.
English learners accounted for 406,616 CYEH, or 26.1%, in 2023–24. In 2021–22, English learners accounted for 235,702 CYEH, or 19.6%. Children with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act accounted for 301,359 CYEH, or 19.5%, in 2023–24; the comparable 2021–22 figures were 235,915 and 19.6%. Migratory children and youth accounted for 22,624 CYEH, or 1.5%, in 2023–24, compared with 15,831, or 1.3%, in 2021–22.
The 2023–24 race or ethnicity counts were Hispanic or Latino, 669,860 students or 43.3%; Black or African American, 385,508 or 24.9%; and White, 334,835 or 21.6%. Students identifying with two or more races accounted for 82,904 or 5.4%. Asian students accounted for 33,668 or 2.2%; American Indian or Alaska Native students accounted for 28,055 or 1.8%; and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander students accounted for 12,153 or 0.8%.
These categories describe the students identified in the report, not the prevalence of homelessness within each racial or ethnic group. A share of all CYEH is different from a group-specific rate, and the supplied national data do not provide the denominator needed to calculate those rates.
Attendance, early childhood, and graduation
Chronic absence was reported for 738,244 CYEH in 2023–24, representing 47.7% of CYEH in the report’s chronic-absence measure. The corresponding figures were 685,490 students, or 48.2%, in 2022–23 and 632,129 students, or 50.8%, in 2021–22. The percentages use the report’s stated numerator and denominator conventions; they are not a general attendance rate and should not be compared with a different denominator.
Early childhood services were measured separately through Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) subgrants. Those subgrants served 84,883 children from birth through age 5 who were not enrolled in kindergarten in 2023–24. The count was 74,893 in 2022–23 and 58,433 in 2021–22. This is not the same population as enrolled public-school CYEH, so the subgrant figures should not be combined with the national enrollment counts.
The national four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR) for students who experienced homelessness was 70.1% in 2023–24 and 69.1% in 2022–23. ACGR is a four-year adjusted cohort rate, and the U.S. average covers the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
State graduation rates varied in the supplied 2022–23 figures. Alabama’s four-year ACGR for students who experienced homelessness was 82%; California’s was 72.7%; and New York’s was 69.6%. These rates are for the stated school year and subgroup, so they should not be treated as current 2026 measurements or as forecasts of later graduation outcomes.
Taken together, the measures cover different populations and denominators: identified public-school students, nighttime residence categories, unaccompanied youth, subgroup counts, chronic absence, early-childhood subgrants, and four-year graduation cohorts. The report’s 2023–24 data were published in February 2026; no 2026 school-year measurement is implied.