FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — After months of delays from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care has released the region’s 2025 Point in Time Count data.
The Fresno Madera Continuum of Care, working with the counties of Fresno and Madera and the cities of Fresno and Clovis, said the 2025 Point in Time Count was conducted Jan. 28, 2025.
Preliminary results were provided on May 19, 2025, and submitted to HUD for validation.
The data was locally validated, but the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care said it did not release the locally validated information because HUD did not post any 2025 Point in Time information publicly for several months.
HUD publicly posted a report summarizing homelessness data nationally that includes the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care’s 2025 Point in Time Count numbers, prompting the local release.
The 2025 Point in Time Count indicates an overall 9.2% increase in homelessness, including sheltered and unsheltered people, across the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care region compared with 2023 figures.
The organization said 2023 data is available on its website, fresnomaderahomeless.org.
While the increase highlights ongoing local challenges with housing availability, affordability, and other factors contributing to homelessness in early 2025, local leaders advised caution in responding strongly because the data is significantly delayed.
They also pointed to challenges with historical methodologies that led the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care to intentionally change the Point in Time Count methodology in 2026.
As described in a County of Fresno press release issued Jan. 27, 2026, about the 2026 Point in Time Count, the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care implemented a new survey-based methodology for the first time, replacing the visual tally process.
The new approach was designed to collect more comprehensive data, and because of the major change, the 2026 Point in Time Count will serve as a new regional baseline for future planning, performance measurement, and system evaluation.
“The 2026 methodology represents an important evolution in how our region understands and responds to homelessness,” said Fresno Madera Continuum of Care Chair Laura Moreno. “While historical counts provided valuable trend information, the enhanced survey-based approach will allow our communities to make more informed decisions about resource allocation, program development, housing interventions, and long-term system planning.”
Local officials emphasized that Point in Time Count data is only one measure of homelessness and should be viewed alongside other indicators, including the state’s Homeless Data Integration System, local shelter utilization rates, outreach engagement contacts, Coordinated Entry service requests, school district data, health system impacts, and housing market conditions.
A detailed 2025 Point in Time report is available at fresnomaderahomeless.org.