Homelessness Facts for King County
(Updated April 2010)
- One Night Count / Point-in-Time Census
- Number of homeless individuals in King County for 2010.
8,937 individuals were counted on the January 28, 2010 One Night Count homeless street count and survey data.- Of these individuals, 6,178 people were found in shelters and transitional programs;
- 2,759 people were surviving outside without shelter.
- We know that there are hundreds (if not thousands) more homeless individuals throughout Seattle and King County who were not counted on the night of the count either because they were hidden from volunteer counters, are living unsheltered in areas of the county not included in the count, or are temporarily homeless but staying with friends and family.
- Geographic breakdown.
80% of homeless people counted in the shelter survey reported their last permanent address having been within the County. The breakdown was: - Household composition.
Homelessness affects all segments of the population – including children. The One Night Count survey reports the following breakdown among households living in emergency shelter and transitional housing programs: - Disproportionality.
People of color are significantly over-represented in the homeless population. While people of color comprise approximately 27% of the general population in King County (2000 Census) they are known to make up at least 64% of all people who are homeless. - Domestic violence.
Forty-four percent of the 1,321 people accessing shelter and transitional programs were children who reported they had experienced violence or abuse in the past year. - Working Poor.
Seven percent of emergency shelter residents and nineteen percent of transitional housing residents’ surveyed report that their main source of income is employment. Regardless of source, however, 82% report that their income is less than 30% of area median income, or $25,300 for a family of four.
| 51% Seattle 16% South King County 5% North King County |
7% East King County 7% WA State - outside of King County 13% Outside WA State |
| 55% families with children* 33% single adult men 11% single adult women Less than 1% unaccompanied youth |
*children aged 0-17 make up 34% of the total count of individuals living in shelters in King County. Young Adults aged 18-25 are a growing segment of the homeless population, and comprise 11% of the shelter population (included as a segment of the single adult men/women figures shown to the left.) |
- Regional Considerations and Affordable Housing
- The Community Information Line/211 reports that nearly 50% of all calls received are housing related. Requests for utility assistance and food also increased. The largest number of calls comes from South King County, followed by Seattle.
- Less than 1% of apartments in King County are affordable to households earning less than 30% of median income ($25,300 for a family of four). The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in King County is $957 (it is $1,606 in Bellevue, and $1,485 in Seattle.) A worker must earn over $19 per hour to afford this housing (housing is considered affordable when it costs 30% of one’s income). King County has a 3.1% vacancy rate, on par with the lowest rates in 20 years.
- 64% of jobs in King County do not pay a wage that will provide for the basic necessities for a family consisting of two adults and two children with one wage earner.
- The 40 people who were the highest users of Harborview and the Sobering Center cost $2,000,000 annually until we got them into housing at 1811 Eastlake.
- 1811 Eastlake, a program of the Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC), provides supportive housing for 75 formerly homeless men and women living with chronic alcohol addiction. In the year after residency, residents reduced their visits to the emergency room, sobering center and jail, resulting in cost savings of more than $4 million. An article on this research can be found at http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/301/13/1349.
- A mentally ill prisoner in the King County Jail (over half of whom are homeless) stays almost 140 days longer than a general population prisoner, at an estimated cost of $300 per night. In fact, the King County Jail is the second largest mental institution in the State of Washington.
- Subsidized housing with services as needed has proven to an effective method to prevent homelessness and create strong communities. The three local housing authorities (Seattle, King County and Renton) provide housing to over 50,000 low-income households annually. Approximately 13,500 households receive Section 8 housing vouchers which allow households to find fair market rental housing close to schools, work or other community supports.
- Emergency rental assistance and case management is a cost effective method for preventing homelessness. Multiple programs operate throughout the county to provide these services, and each year, these programs distribute approximately $550,000 in emergency assistance to just over 1,100 households. Households typically report a one-time financial crisis such as a job loss, short-term illness or car repair that put them at risk of losing their housing, and follow-up reports of households served indicate that over 80% of households provided with rental assistance are still housed six months later. Households assisted were composed of the following types:
| Families - Single Parent: 49% |
| Families - Two parent household: 27% |
| Individual: 19% |
| Adult Couple: 6% |
Working together to end homelessness in King County
Learn more at these informational Web sites
- King County Department of Community and Human Services
- City of Seattle, Office of Housing
- United Way of King County
- King County Housing Authority
- Seattle Housing Authority
- Washington Low Income Housing Alliance
- Washington State Coalition for the Homeless
- Housing Development Consortium
- Municipal endorsers and participants in the 10-Year Plan