According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), around 582,000 Americans experienced homelessness in 2022, which is about 18 per 10,000 people in the US. This number increased by nearly 2,000 people from 2020. It is important to note that this number includes both sheltered and unsheltered people, and the HUDs definition of homelessness includes people living in domestic violence shelters, transitional shelters, safe havens that serve homeless individuals with severe mental illness, or hotels/motels, as well as people living outdoors, in cars, in abandoned buildings, or in other places not meant for human habitation. People staying with friends are only considered homeless if they cannot stay there longer than 14 days. The percentage of Americans who are homeless is about 0.18% .