Axios has some facts and figures on homeless in Philadelphia. This represents a snapshot in time (summer 2026).

• 5,163 total
• 4,676 using shelters (711 sleeping outdoors)
• The average number of homeless between 2019 and 2026 was about 5,100, with a peak just before the pandemic and slight decrease in 2026 compared to 2025.

I have compassion for any homeless individual, particularly one sleeping outdoors. Looking at the cold hard numbers, it strikes me that around 90% of people experiencing homeless are making use of shelters. So when you see those 10% people on the street it does not mean that nothing is being done. It means those people fell through the cracks. I don’t know if adding 10% more shelter capacity would solve that problem, or if those are people unwilling or unable to make the decision to enter a shelter. The other thing that strikes me is 5,000 people is not an overwhelming number in a city of 1.6 million (about half a percent). 700 people sleeping on the street are visible enough that it can give an impression of an overwhelming problem. Poverty in general can seem like an overwhelming problem at the local level, but helping 5,000 people is a manageable, solvable problem.