How Shoreline-Area Homeless Population Has Changed Since 2017

SHORELINE, WA — King County has released the final figures for its 2019 Count Us In homeless census. Although the count showed an overall drop in the county homeless population, the numbers are up for some parts of the county, including the cities of Shoreline, Kenmore, Woodinville, and Lake Forest Park.

The top-line finding: the estimated homeless population dipped 8 percent from 2018 to 11,199. The annual count is just an estimate of the homeless population based on a single night census taken in January. It should only be taken as an estimate, the county cautions.

About 53 percent of homeless people were counted living in shelter, while 47 percent were found living unsheltered. A majority of the population was counted while living in an emergency shelter (4,065) or vehicle (2,147).

(The definition of "sheltered" was changed in All Home's 2019 count after a request from the city of Seattle. The sheltered population went from 4,000 to 4,239 in 2019 after several of Seattle's tiny house villages were included in the definition. Read more on that here.)

The survey also gives a sense of why people became homeless, and why they are homeless in King County. There is speculation that people come to Seattle — sometimes derisively called "Freeattle" — and King County for generous benefits, but the data does not bear that out.

Eighty-four percent in the survey said they were a resident of King County at the time they became homeless. Only 5 percent said they came here from another state. About 46 percent said they either grew up here or have lived in Puget Sound for more than 10 years.

At 24 percent, a lost job was the No. 1 reason for homelessness. That was followed by drug or alcohol addiction (16 percent), eviction (15 percent), divorce or breakup (9 percent), and being unable to afford a rent increase (8 percent).

A majority of homeless, almost 9,000, live in Seattle. The homeless population on the Eastside and other parts of the county has changed over the last three counts. Below you can see data on those changes.

The North County area includes the cities of Bothell, Kenmore, Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, Woodinville, and unincorporated King County. The East County area includes Beaux Arts Village, Bellevue, Clyde Hill, Hunts Point, Issaquah, Kirkland, Medina, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Redmond, Sammamish, Yarrow Point, and unincorporated areas.

Unsheltered

2019 East County — 337
2018* East County — 393
2017 East County — 319
Change since 2017: +5.64 percent

2019 North County — 85

2018 North County — 251
2017 North County — 58
Change since 2017: +46.5 percent

Sheltered

2019 East County — 569
2018* East County — 636
2017 East County — 660
Change since 2017: -13.8 percent

2019 North County — 192
2018 North County — 215
2017 North County — 71
Change since 2017: +170.4 percent

Total

2019 East County — 906 (-12%)
2018* East County — 1,029 (+5.1%)
2017 East County — 979
Change since 2017: -7.4 percent

2019 North County — 277 (-40.1%)
2018 North County — 466 (+261.2%)
2017 North County — 129
Change since 2017: +114.7 percent

You can read the full 2019 All Home Count Us In findings here.

*Issaquah and Sammamish were added to the "East County" area in 2018, resulting in an addition of 35 people.