The city\u2019s own numbers show the unsheltered population grew from 3,588 in fiscal year 2019 to 4,504 in fiscal year 2025, a 26% increase from pre-pandemic levels. Over that same period, spending on services for the unsheltered jumped 262%, from $102 million to nearly $368 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That works out to roughly $81,700 per unsheltered person in FY 2025 \u2014 slightly more than the city\u2019s median household income, though the comparison is only a broad benchmark since public spending and household earnings are not directly comparable.<\/p>\n
The numbers show the city is pouring in more money while the street homeless population continues to grow \u2014 and taxpayers are footing the bill.<\/p>\n
FROM FREE BUSES TO CITY-OWNED GROCERY STORES, HERE ARE MAMDANI\u2019S KEY ECONOMIC PROMISES<\/a><\/p>\n A man sleeps on the E train, one of the subway lines most utilized by homeless New Yorkers for shelter, in Queens, New York, on Monday, April 7, 2025. (Victor J. Blue for The Washington Post\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Still, the report notes that New York\u2019s shelter system remains unusually large by national standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n Los Angeles<\/a>, the city with the next-largest homeless population, has about 71,000 homeless people, roughly half of New York City\u2019s 2024 total, and about 70% of them are unsheltered. In New York City, by contrast, nearly 97% of the homeless population is in shelters.<\/p>\n The findings are likely to add fuel to the broader debate over housing affordability, as soaring rents and a shortage of low-cost housing remain central to New York City\u2019s homelessness crisis \u2014 and a key issue for Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a>.<\/p>\n While Mamdani has proposed freezing rents on roughly 2 million stabilized apartments, many economists argue that rent freezes may shield current tenants in the short term while worsening the city\u2019s long-term housing shortage \u2014 doing little to solve the supply crisis at the root of New York\u2019s homelessness problem.<\/p>\n MAMDANI BUDGET POURS MILLIONS INTO DEI OFFICES AND CUTS 5,000 NYPD JOBS<\/a><\/p>\n New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled his financial plan for the nation’s largest city during a news conference on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Seth Wenig\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n More broadly, his $127 billion budget proposal calls for higher taxes on wealthy residents and corporations, along with a possible 9.5% property tax<\/a> increase if state lawmakers decline to act.<\/p>\n Whether that approach will ease the affordability crunch or further disrupt the housing market remains an open question, with critics warning that rent freezes and higher taxes could discourage investment and strain supply.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/homeless-nyc-metro.png\")
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