Homelessness in Muskegon County
Homelessness Data & Updates for Muskegon County
This page serves as a hub for important updates and information related to homelessness in Muskegon County. Here, you’ll find data from past Housing Inventory Counts and Point-in-Time Counts, along with other key insights and announcements.
The CoC believes that data plays a critical role in driving meaningful change. That’s why we’re committed to bringing data to the forefront—presenting it in ways that are accessible, understandable, and useful for everyone in our community.
This page serves as a hub for important updates and information related to homelessness in Muskegon County. Here, you’ll find data from past Housing Inventory Counts and Point-in-Time Counts, along with other key insights and announcements.
The CoC believes that data plays a critical role in driving meaningful change. That’s why we’re committed to bringing data to the forefront—presenting it in ways that are accessible, understandable, and useful for everyone in our community.
Muskegon County Point-in-Time Count Data 2018-2024
Below is a comparison of sheltered and unsheltered homelessness data in Muskegon County from 2018 through 2024. This information is sourced from the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, which is a one-day snapshot conducted each year to estimate the number of individuals experiencing homelessness. The PIT Count is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and carried out by Continuums of Care (CoCs) across the country. In Muskegon County, the count is conducted with the support of local volunteers who survey the community, including during evening hours, in an effort to identify individuals living without shelter.
It’s important to note that the PIT Count represents a single moment in time and may not capture the full scope of homelessness in the community. However, it remains a critical tool for understanding trends over time and informing resource allocation. The CoC continues to refine its methodology and outreach strategies to more accurately identify and count individuals, particularly those who remain unsheltered and harder to locate.
While the data may not be comprehensive, it serves as a vital indicator of the ongoing needs within Muskegon County and highlights the importance of sustained efforts in outreach, prevention, and housing solutions.
While the data may not be comprehensive, it serves as a vital indicator of the ongoing needs within Muskegon County and highlights the importance of sustained efforts in outreach, prevention, and housing solutions.
First-Time Homelessness in Muskegon County
First-time homelessness refers to people who are entering homelessness services—like emergency shelters, transitional housing, or permanent housing programs—for the first time. To figure out who these individuals are, we look at everyone who entered these programs during a given year and check whether they had any similar entries in the two years before. If they didn’t, we count them as experiencing homelessness for the first time.
Tracking this number year after year is important because it helps us understand how many people are newly falling into homelessness. This can reveal how well our prevention efforts are working and whether new challenges—like economic shifts or housing shortages—are causing more people to lose their housing for the first time.