North County Report: Homelessness Decreased Inland, Slightly Increased on Coast, Census Shows 

The results from the annual homelessness census are in and in North County, there’s some good news and some bad news. 

Street homelessness decreased in inland North County and increased in coastal North County year-over-year, according to the annual point-in-time count.  

At the same time, coastal North County saw an increase of people staying in shelters, while the number of people in shelters in inland North County stayed relatively consistent year-over-year. 

Officials at the Regional Task Force on Homelessness released the numbers from the census last week. The actual tallying of homeless people took place during an early morning in January as volunteers fanned out across the region to count unhoused people. 

There’s always a huge caveat with these numbers. The point-in-time count is a bare minimum count that takes place all on one day. If the volunteer census takers can’t find someone, that means that person doesn’t get counted. The number of sheltered homeless San Diegans is fairly reliable. But unsheltered people can be hard to find sometimes, meaning that part of the count is less reliable.  

Here’s a closer look at what the latest numbers show. 

Inland Cities See Decrease in Unsheltered Numbers 

The number of unsheltered homeless people in inland North County fell by 10 percent compared to last year. 

Escondido saw a significant drop in its unsheltered population, decreasing by 12 percent from 307 unsheltered people counted in 2025 to 271 in 2026.  

That also means Escondido no longer has the highest unsheltered homeless population in North County, as it did in the last several point-in-time counts. The largest unsheltered population lives in Oceanside, which is also the most populated city in North County. 

San Marcos’ unsheltered population decreased by 77 percent from 30 unsheltered people in 2025 to just seven in 2026. Poway also saw a decrease of 67 percent, though its numbers are typically low to begin with. It went from nine unsheltered people last year to three this year. 

Every inland city saw at least a slight drop in unsheltered homelessness numbers except the city of Vista, which saw a 9 percent uptick in unsheltered people compared to last year, increasing from 144 in 2025 to 157 in 2026. The unsheltered population also increased in Fallbrook – not technically a city — from 16 unsheltered people to 17. 

Sheltered Homelessness: The number of homeless people living in shelters remained relatively steady overall in inland North County.  

In 2025, the number of sheltered homeless people was 428, and this year that number was 432. 

A couple of inland cities, though, saw significant changes in their sheltered populations. Escondido’s, for example, dropped by 18 percent from 281 last year to 231 this year. Coupled with the city’s decrease in unsheltered homelessness, that means homelessness in Escondido has decreased on all fronts – at least according to the count. 

Fallbrook’s sheltered numbers also decreased significantly from 76 people last year to 18 people in 2026. 

Unsheltered Homelessness Increased in Coastal Cities  

In coastal North County, unsheltered homelessness increased by 5 percent overall. 

Oceanside had the largest increase with its unsheltered population increasing by 14 percent from 328 in 2025 to 362 in 2026. The city now has the most unsheltered homeless people in North County. 

Carlsbad also saw an uptick in unsheltered homelessness, rising by 9 percent compared to last year. The tally in Carlsbad was 101 in 2025 and 110 in 2026, according to the report. 

Encinitas, which is also grouped in with Del Mar, Solana Beach and San Dieguito, saw a 30 percent decrease in its unsheltered population, which dropped from 91 to 64. 

Sheltered Homelessness: On the coastal side, the number of homeless people living in shelters increased year-over-year by 20 percent. There were 311 people counted in shelters on the coast this year, compared to 259 that were counted in 2025. 

Oceanside’s sheltered numbers increased by 20 percent, from 173 people living in shelters last year to 207 this year. That means the city’s unsheltered and sheltered populations saw increases year-over-year. 

Carlsbad had a 45 percent increase of people living in homeless shelters, growing from 42 people in 2025 to 61 people in 2026. 

Encinitas, Del Mar, Solana Beach and San Dieguito’s shelter numbers remained steady year-over-year. 

In Other News 

• Rep. Mike Levin is seeking a fifth two-year term in the 49th Congressional District, which includes a large part of northern San Diego County and southern Orange County. You can read more about that race here. (Union-Tribune) 
• The Oceanside City Council will consider extending a program to move homeless people camped along State Route 78 into long-term housing. It’s currently funded by a state initiative called the Encampment Resolution Fund. (Union-Tribune) 
• Related: You can read more about Oceanside and Carlsbad’s joint effort to move hundreds of homeless people from encampments into stable housing here. (Voice of San Diego) 
• San Marcos will allocate $1 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds toward public service, housing affordability programs and infrastructure improvements. (Coast News) 

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