The Point-in-Time (PIT) count is a count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. HUD requires that Continuums of Care conduct an annual count of people experiencing homelessness who are sheltered in emergency shelter, transitional housing, and Safe Havens on a single night. Continuums of Care also must conduct a count of unsheltered people experiencing homelessness every other year (odd numbered years). Each count is planned, coordinated, and carried out locally. The Housing Inventory Count (HIC) is a point-in-time inventory of provider programs within a Continuum of Care that provide beds and units dedicated to serve people experiencing homelessness (and, for permanent housing projects, where homeless at entry, per the HUD homeless definition), categorized by five Program Types: Emergency Shelter; Transitional Housing; Rapid Re-housing; Safe Haven; and Permanent Supportive Housing.
Data for the PIT count and HIC are submitted to HUD via the online data submission Homelessness Data Exchange (HDX). New users of the HDX should view the HUD HDX Training Modules, a series of six user-friendly HDX training modules to help communities use the HDX and gain the most out of their data.
Guides, tools, webinars, and other resources related to Point-in-Time (PIT) count and Housing Inventory Count (HIC) are provided to assist CoCs in preparing for and completing these reports.
View PIT Count and HIC Guides, Tools, and Webinars
HUD provides PIT count reports of sheltered and unsheltered persons experiencing homelessness, by household type and subpopulation. This data is available at the national and state level, and for each CoC. HUD also provides HIC reports, which provide a snapshot of a CoC’s inventory of beds and units available on the night designated for the count by program type, and include beds dedicated to serve persons who are homeless as well as persons in Permanent Supportive Housing.