For a long time, no one has known exactly how many people in Multnomah County are homeless. There have been biannual estimates and a rough list of individual people, but not a quality-checked, deduplicated, regularly updated database.
That is about to change, county officials say.
In early 2025, the county is set to release a detailed dashboard that, for the first time, will capture the size and demographics of the area’s constantly fluctuating homeless population with what county officials say will be the most comprehensive list they’ve ever had. Once the new data is published, the dashboard will be updated monthly.
“We are excited to have it out there,” said Anna Plumb, deputy director of the county’s department of homeless services. “It’s a pretty big undertaking to consistently update your data and understand who is experiencing homelessness.”
