San Francisco's homeless tent count has reached its lowest point since before the COVID-19 pandemic, with city officials reporting just 165 tents and tent-like structures counted across the city in June 2025. The dramatic 85% decrease from the peak of 1,108 tents recorded in April 2020 represents one of the most significant reductions in visible homelessness on record for any major U.S. city.
The June count fell by approximately 25% since the last quarterly count in March 2025, when 220 tents were tallied, according to Mission Local. The progress comes as neighboring Contra Costa County reported a 26% drop in homelessness in yesterday's Hoodline Oakland coverage, suggesting a broader regional trend in addressing the crisis that has long plagued Bay Area communities.
Current data shows that Apparel City — an area bordering Bernal Heights and Bayview — has the most tents, followed by South of Market and the Tenderloin neighborhoods. Bayview remains the only neighborhood with sites containing more than six tents and structures, representing a dramatic decline from the peak of 66 large sites recorded in April 2020.
Lurie Administration Expands Multi-Pronged Strategy
Mayor Daniel Lurie, who took office in January 2025, has built upon and expanded the enforcement policies initiated by his predecessor, London Breed. Lurie's administration has operated a four-month pilot "triage center" on Sixth Street to connect individuals struggling with homelessness and drug addiction to services. The police department has also maintained a 24/7 "mobile-command unit" at the 16th Street BART plaza as part of ongoing operations to address street conditions.
In June 2025, Lurie introduced legislation specifically targeting vehicular homelessness, addressing a growing concern as the city has also seen fluctuations in the number of people living in vehicles. The comprehensive approach reflects lessons learned from previous administrations' efforts to tackle multiple dimensions of the homelessness crisis.
Denny Machuca-Grebe, spokesperson for the Department of Emergency Management, emphasized that "the declines aren't just numbers" but rather "a positive indicator of safer, healthier streets and more San Franciscans accessing help." The Department of Emergency Management has taken the lead role in coordinating homelessness response, rather than relying primarily on the San Francisco Police Department or homeless nonprofits.
Shelter Distribution and Capacity Challenges
The city's approach to shelter placement has evolved significantly over recent months. In April 2025, a San Francisco supervisor proposed that homeless shelters be mandatory in all city districts, aiming for more equitable distribution of services across neighborhoods. This proposal emerged as officials recognized that concentrated shelter placement in certain areas was creating additional strain on those communities.
Despite the decline in visible tent encampments, the city continues to face significant challenges in providing adequate shelter capacity. The number of people in the city's shelters has been increasing since 2021, rising from 6,859 in 2021 to 9,913 in 2024. Mayor Lurie has set a goal of adding 1,500 new shelter beds, though only 122 of those have been added so far.
Service Resistance and Displacement Concerns
While the tent count has declined significantly, challenges remain in connecting individuals to services. First quarter data from 2025 shows that 75% of outreach engagements resulted in refusals of shelter and services, an increase from 60% in May 2024. Of 925 engagements during the first three months of 2025, 696 resulted in refusals and only 229 led to shelter placements.
The targeted enforcement efforts have also raised concerns about displacement of homeless individuals to other areas of the city. The Standard reported that the crackdown on Sixth Street has led to increased drug activity around the 16th Street BART station in the Mission District. Business owners in the area have noted worsening conditions, with approximately 50 people using and selling drugs or illegally buying and selling goods observed at the station.
Mission District Supervisor Jackie Fielder warned about the predictable consequences of enforcement-heavy approaches. "I've warned them all about the displacement," Fielder said. "Without scaling a serious plan for treatment, for mental health beds, we're not going to see serious results, and we're just going to continue the cat-and-mouse game that's been playing out."
Historical Context and Policy Evolution
The current success builds on groundwork laid during the previous administration. In March 2024, Hoodline reported that San Francisco was already seeing a 37% drop in street tents and a 42% decrease in dwellings in vehicles under Mayor London Breed's "aggressive housing measures." Those early efforts included expanded Permanent Supportive Housing and increased shelter capacity.
The quarterly tent count has been conducted since April 2019 by teams of city workers driving across the city. The steady decline began in July 2023 under former Mayor Breed's administration, with enforcement efforts accelerating after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson, which gave cities more authority to clear homeless encampments.
Prevention and Family Support Initiatives
The Lurie administration has also launched the Family Homelessness Prevention Pilot, an 18-month effort funded by an $11 million investment from Tipping Point Community. The program aims to provide more accessible and coordinated support to families on the brink of homelessness. San Francisco's shelter waiting list currently includes more than 300 families, highlighting the ongoing need for preventive measures.
Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, argues that tent counts may not provide a complete picture of the homelessness situation. "You're essentially counting a piece of fabric," Friedenbach said. "It's not very meaningful." She suggests that other metrics, such as the number of people entering temporary shelters or exiting from shelters into permanent housing, might more accurately gauge progress.
Legal Implications
The city's approach to homeless encampments continues to face legal challenges from advocacy groups. The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights has accused the city of violating unhoused people's rights by seizing and destroying their property. A federal judge previously issued an order limiting San Francisco's ability to clear encampments, though an appeals court later ruled that the city can proceed if individuals reject specific shelter offers.
Recent data shows that over one-fourth of the city's drug arrests and citations in March 2025 came from within a 1.5-block radius of the 16th Street BART plaza, where the mobile command unit is stationed, raising questions about the sustainability and broader impact of concentrated enforcement efforts.
The sustained reduction in tent counts represents a significant shift in San Francisco's approach to visible homelessness, though critics argue that meaningful long-term progress requires addressing underlying causes such as housing affordability and expanding treatment capacity rather than focusing primarily on enforcement measures. As regional trends suggest broader improvements across the Bay Area, the challenge remains ensuring that progress in reducing visible homelessness translates into genuine housing stability for the thousands of San Franciscans still experiencing homelessness.
