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Chronic homelessness jumped 22% across Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church between 2025 and 2026, even as the area’s overall homeless population rose only slightly.
The 2026 Point-in-Time count identified 302 people experiencing chronic homelessness, up from 248 a year earlier. That was nearly half of the 634 chronically homeless people counted across Washington’s suburbs.
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments defines chronic homelessness as continuous homelessness lasting at least one year, or four or more periods of homelessness over three years that total at least 12 months.
Across the region, the chronically homeless population increased 5% to 2,059 people. The District accounted for 1,425 of them.
Most were staying in shelters, but more than one-quarter were living on the streets or in other unsafe conditions.
Overall homelessness continues upward trend
The total number of people experiencing homelessness in the Fairfax area reached 1,365 in 2026, up 43 people, or 3%, from 1,322 in 2025.
The regional count rose by 131 people, or 1%, to 9,790.
Fairfax County officials said the local increase was driven mainly by more adults using emergency shelters. It also continued an upward trend dating to 2017.
The sharpest growth occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fairfax’s count climbed from 1,041 people in 2020 to 1,310 in 2023, an increase of about 26% in three years. Since then, the total has risen another 4%, adding 55 people.
The 2026 count took place Feb. 4 after extreme winter weather forced organizers to postpone the survey from its customary late-January date.
Volunteers and local government employees canvassed the region for people living outside, while shelter operators reported the number of residents in their facilities.
Sheltered individuals made up 87% of the total count, an unusually high share that officials said was likely connected to the severe cold and icy conditions in late January and early February.
Christine Hong, chair of the regional Homeless Services Planning and Coordinating Committee, cautioned that the count captures conditions on only one night and cannot explain why homelessness rose or fell in a particular jurisdiction.
Despite those limitations, she said the survey provides an important regional snapshot.
Fairfax’s homelessness rate stood at 1.1 people per 1,000 residents. The suburban regional rate was 0.9 per 1,000, while the rate including the District was 1.8 per 1,000.
County expands shelter and housing options
The Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness works with local government staff on prevention and services.
The local system uses six main approaches: street outreach, prevention, emergency shelter, transitional housing, rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing. Its stated goal is to prevent homelessness whenever possible and ensure that any episode is rare, brief and occurs only once.
The 85-unit Fair Ridge Shelter opened in April 2025 to serve families with children. The county’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness also awarded contracts to new providers of county-funded services last fall.
County supervisors approved another shelter near a planned fire station in the Penn Daw neighborhood, east of Richmond Highway. The three-story facility is expected to include 50 shelter beds, 20 supportive-housing units for individuals and 10 supportive-housing units for families.
Senior homelessness raises new concerns
Hong told regional officials that the Trump administration had made significant cuts to supportive-housing programs and warned that further threats and uncertainty remained.
Officials also highlighted rising homelessness among older adults, who may face additional risks because of health problems or limited mobility.
The Point-in-Time report said older people entering the homeless-services system may have serious conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease or cancer. It also cited an estimated life expectancy of 42 to 52 years for people experiencing homelessness, compared with 78 years for the general U.S. population.