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Committee to End Homelessness in King County

401 5th Avenue
Suite 500
Seattle, WA 98104

206-263-9085
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Homelessness Facts for King County
                  (Updated September 2008)

One Night Count / Point-in-Time Census
  • Seattle King County Coalition for the Homeless conducts an annual “One Night Count,” which includes a street count in portions of Seattle, Shoreline, Kent, White Center and East King County, and a survey of homeless shelters and transitional programs throughout King County. The 2008 “One Night Count” identified the following trends:
Number of homeless individuals in King County. 8,439 individuals were counted in our homelessness survey on January 25, 2008. The survey found 5,808 people in shelters and transitional programs and 2,631 people surviving outside without shelter (counted in a street count). 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. Over 79% of homeless people counted in the shelter survey reported their last permanent address having been within the County (the street count does not disturb people and therefore does not generate detailed personal information). Permanent address is defined as a place occupied for at least two months prior to the latest episode of homelessness, and excluding shelter and transitional housing. The breakdown was:
55% Seattle (decrease of 2% from 2007)
15% South King County (increase of 4% from 2007)
5% East King County (decrease of 2% from 2007)
 4% North King County (same as 2007)
6% WA State (outside of King County)
(decrease of 3% from 2007)
15% Outside WA State (3% increase)

Household composition. Homelessness affects all segments of the population including children. The One Night Count shelter survey of individuals living in shelters or transitional housing programs reports the following breakdown among households:
36%  single adult men
13%  single adult women
50%  families with children*
1%    unaccompanied youth
*children aged 0-17 make up 50% 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.)

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. 1,125 people accessing shelter and transitional programs reported they had experienced violence or abuse in the past year during this year’s count. Eighty-four percent of these people were in families with children.


Working Poor. For many people, lack of affordable housing causes them to be homeless. Six percent of emergency shelter residents, and twenty percent of transitional housing residents surveyed through the One Night Count shelter survey report that their main source of income is employment. Regardless of source, however, 76% report that their income is less than 30% of area median income, or $24,400 for a family of four.


Regional Considerations and Affordable Housing
  • Requests/Turnaways. The number of people seeking services provides us with information about trends and gaps in services. The Community Information Line/211 reports that nearly 50% of all calls received are housing related. The following numbers for people seeking services in 2007:
    • Basic Needs
    Shelter                                   12,297 *
    Domestic Violence Shelter    1,592
    Housing                                 6,510 **
    		 Financial Assistance
    Move-In Assistance           2,052 ***
    Rental Assistance               9,456 ****
    * a 14% increase over 2007
    ** a 26% increase over 2007     		*** a 50% increase over 2007
    **** an 8% increase over 2007

  • Housing burden Less than 1% of apartments in King County are affordable to households earning less than 30% of median income ($24,400 for a family of four). The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in King County is $985 (it is $1,165 in Bellevue, and $1,133 in Seattle.) A worker must earn over $17-21 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 part with the lowest rates in 20 years.
  • Costs of homelessness. A study of the 40 highest users of Harborview and the Sobering Center – almost all of whom are homeless -- showed that they cost the emergency response system an average of $50,000 per year. Similarly, 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.
    Supportive housing, which helps mentally ill or chemically-dependent persons break the cycle of homelessness, is clearly the preferable path. 1811 Eastlake, a program of the Downtown Emergency Service Center, opened its doors in December 2005, providing supportive housing for 75 formerly homeless men and women living with chronic alcohol addiction. Residents benefit from 24-hour, seven day a week supportive service. After 12 months of operation, the program documented that residents had a significant reduction in use of the emergency room, sobering center and jail, resulting in about $2.5 million cost savings to these systems. Specifically:
    - Medical expenses were down 41%
    - County jail bookings were down 45%
    - Sobering center usage was down 87%

  • Housing subsidies 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. Due to funding cuts housing authorities have been unable to distribute over 1,000 vouchers that used to be available to low-income households, nor are they able to accept applications on an ongoing basis. Rather, they accept applications during two-week application periods every few years from which they maintain wait lists. During the two-week period in the spring of 2007, the King County Housing Authority received over 11,000 applications for 2,500 available vouchers.
  • 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%
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