Wake County homelessness count finds 1,050 residents in January snapshot

Even with White Flag shelters open across Wake County, 1,050 residents were counted without stable housing on Jan. 22, including 307 people living unsheltered and 743 staying in shelters or transitional housing.

The annual Point-in-Time Count, coordinated by the Wake County Continuum of Care, brought together more than 145 volunteers led by experienced street outreach staff. Teams looked under bridges, near wooded encampments and other known places where people experiencing homelessness may be staying, trying to capture a single-night picture of the county’s housing crisis.

The total was down from 1,258 in 2025, but it still left Wake County above the 1,000 mark. County officials say the count is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is only a snapshot, not a year-round census. It also misses people staying with family or friends, doubled up, or sleeping in hotels or motels, which means the real number of residents facing housing instability is higher.

Cheryl Stallings with the Wake County Board of Commissioners said the data are meant to guide housing and outreach efforts, noting that behind every number is a person and a story. That message matters because the count was taken during a White Flag weather alert, when emergency shelter capacity was expanded as dangerous cold temperatures pushed more people toward indoor space. Wake County says White Flag shelters open when the forecast calls for 35 degrees Fahrenheit or below with wind chill, or when other severe weather threatens health and safety.

The numbers show a system that can respond to an emergency night, but not yet solve the problem. Wake County’s 2025 count recorded 1,258 people experiencing homelessness, including 971 in shelters and 287 unsheltered, while a 2024 volunteer recruitment post said that year’s total was 992. The shifts suggest progress in some areas and continuing pressure in others, especially for residents still cycling between outside encampments and temporary placements.

Wake County’s Housing Affordability & Community Revitalization department says it is moving ahead with a draft 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan and a proposed 200-unit affordable rental development at 326 Chapanoke Road in Raleigh. The county also says it is strengthening the use of real-time and year-round data to better understand trends in homelessness and coordinate housing and outreach with municipalities, nonprofit organizations and housing providers. The January count makes one point plain: emergency shelter can soften a cold night, but stable housing remains the larger test.