The City’s 2026 Homeless Count, a two-part canvassing effort, is scheduled to take place this week.
Local volunteers will canvas the area from 8 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, and again from 6 to 8 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, to help measure the scope of homelessness in Pasadena.
The annual count is used to estimate how many people are experiencing homelessness on a single winter night and to help guide policy decisions and funding priorities for the year ahead.
The effort comes after Pasadena’s 2025 Point-in-Time Count identified 581 people experiencing homelessness, a 4% increase from the year before. Of those, 342 were unsheltered, primarily living on streets or sidewalks, marking a 7% increase from 2024, even as Los Angeles County overall reported a decline.
City data showed single adults made up 83% of Pasadena’s homeless population, with 72% of them reporting a disabling condition.
Veteran homelessness continued to decline, dropping to 29 individuals, down from 32 the previous year.
The report also noted increased regional mobility, with a larger share of unsheltered residents saying they were last housed in nearby San Gabriel Valley communities.
The 2025 count was conducted Feb. 19–20 after being postponed because of the Eaton Fire.
Participants in this week’s count will work in teams during both shifts to conduct a visual census and administer surveys to unhoused residents. Organizers said the same volunteers are expected to take part in both the evening and morning canvases. Cold-weather kits will also be distributed to people encountered during the count.
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