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The count helps us better understand why people experience homelessness.

Registration for the 2023 point-in-time count is closed.

Every day in Pierce County, thousands of people sleep in cars, shelters or on the street. They are someone's mom, dad, child or friend. Do you ever wonder how they lost everything and became homeless? We answer this question and more every year through the Point-in-Time (PIT) Count. 

This year's PIT Count will run from Thursday January 26 - Friday January 27. We expect full results from the PIT Count in Spring 2023. 


MEDIA CONTACT
[email protected]
253-363-0325

Section Break
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  1. 2022 PIT Data
  2. 2021 PIT Data
  3. 2020 PIT Data
  4. 2019 PIT Data
  5. 2018 PIT Data

What is the Homeless Point-In-Time Count?

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Washington State Department of Commerce require communities to conduct a one-day Point-In-Time (PIT) Count to survey individuals experiencing homelessness. PIT Counts are one source of data among many that help us understand the magnitude and characteristics of people who are homeless in our community.

The Point-In-Time (PIT) Count is a one-day snapshot that captures the characteristics and situations of people living here without a home. The PIT Count includes both sheltered individuals (temporarily living in emergency shelters or transitional housing) and unsheltered individuals (those sleeping outside or living in places that are not meant for human habitation).

The annual PIT Count happens the last Friday in January, and is carried out by volunteers who interview people and asks where they slept the night before, where their last residence was located, what may have contributed to their loss of housing, and disabilities the individual may have. It also asks how long the individual has been homeless, age and demographics, and whether the person is a veteran and/or a survivor of domestic violence.

Like all surveys, the PIT Count has limitations. Results from the Count are influenced by the weather, by availability of overflow shelter beds, by the number of volunteers, and by the level of engagement of the people we are interviewing. Comparisons from year to year should be done with those limitations in mind.


"The Point-In-Time Count provides the homeless assistance community with the data needed to understand the number and characteristics of persons who are homeless at one point in time."
-U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development