San Joaquin County Point-In-Time Count Shows 14% Increase in Unsheltered Homelessness

<p><strong>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</strong><br>July 3, 2026<br>Contact: newsroom@dismalfreedompress.org</p><p>San Joaquin County's 2026 Point-in-Time homeless count, conducted in January and released July 1, recorded 2,847 unsheltered individuals across the county — a 14% increase over the 2024 count of 2,498. The count covers individuals sleeping outside, in vehicles, or in spaces not designed for human habitation on a single night in late January.</p><p>Stockton accounted for 1,738 of the county's 2,847 unsheltered individuals — 61% of the total — despite comprising approximately 47% of the county's population. The county's three rural areas (Lodi, Tracy/Lathrop corridor, and unincorporated zones) collectively showed a 19% increase.</p><p>San Joaquin County CEO Carlos Villapudua attributed the increase in part to the elimination of the county's two mobile crisis teams in the FY2026-27 budget, which took effect July 1, and to the expiration of federal emergency rental assistance funds in late 2025.</p><p>The count methodology was independently audited for the first time in 2026 following a 2025 Grand Jury finding that previous counts had undercounted vehicle-dwelling individuals by an estimated 30-40%.</p><p>###</p>