VA Housed Nearly 49,000 Homeless Veterans in 2026

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has said it has permanently housed almost 49,000 homeless veterans in the United States in Fiscal Year 2026.

In a statement on Thursday, the department said it had housed a total of 48,968 homeless veterans, which amounts to an average of more than 4,000 veterans a month.

“Under President Trump, VA is working harder than ever to get homeless veterans off the streets and back on the path to self-sufficiency,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins in a statement.

“By finding permanent homes for nearly 4,000 veterans each month, we are changing tens of thousands of lives for the better.”

According to the latest official federal data, 32,495 veterans were experiencing homelessness on a single night in the U.S.

Major causes of homelessness include a severe shortage of affordable housing, rising living costs and challenges transitioning to civilian employment.

High rates of service-related physical disabilities, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries can destabilize veterans’ lives.

Some rural veterans in particular have issues with securing housing because of surging prices and housing shortages, with demand outstripping supply.

VA Rehousing Program

The VA said that the 48,968 veterans the department they rehoused was the second-highest number the VA had rehoused.

The record high was in Fiscal Year 2025 when the VA housed 51,936 veterans, according to the agency’s internal data.

Other efforts have been made by the VA to combat homelessness.

In May 2025, President Donald Trump made an executive order establishing a National Center for Warrior Independence to house up to 6,000 homeless veterans on the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center campus by 2028.

The VA is in the process of implementing this order and has added 450 housing units to the campus thus far.

In June, it launched a claim program to help veterans with financial struggles to prevent homelessness in the first place.

In August, VA established a $29 million fund to provide food, shelter, clothing and transport to homeless veterans.

In September, the department announced a record-high $1.17 billion in grants to 680 organizations that continue to fight veteran homelessness.

Veteran homelessness is predicted to decrease across America, according to nonprofit projections.

In October, the nonprofit Community Solutions released a preliminary analysis of available 2026 point-in-time (PIT) count data on veteran homelessness and projected an 8.2% veteran homelessness decline when compared to 2025.

The VA advised homeless veterans or veterans at risk of homelessness to connect with a Veterans Justice Outreach specialist by calling the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at (877) 424-3838.