Prevalence and Correlates of Youth Homelessness in the United States

Abstract

Purpose: Unaccompanied youth homelessness is a serious concern. Response, however, has been constrained by the absence of credible data on the size and characteristics of the population and reliable means to track youth homelessness over time. We sought to address these gaps.

Methods: Using a nationally representative phone-based survey (N = 26,161), we solicited household and individual reports on different types of youth homelessness. We collected household reports on adolescents aged 13-17 and young adults aged 18-25, as well as self-reports from young adults aged 18-25. Follow-up interviews with a subsample (n = 150) provided additional information on youth experiences and enabled adjustment for inclusion errors.

Results: Over a 12-month period, approximately 3.0% of households with 13- to 17-year-olds reported explicit youth homelessness (including running away or being asked to leave) and 1.3% reported experiences that solely involved couch surfing, resulting in an overall 4.3% household prevalence of any homelessness, broadly defined. For 18- to 25-year-olds, household prevalence estimates were 5.9% for explicitly reported homelessness, 6.6% for couch surfing only, and 12.5% overall. The 12-month population prevalence estimates, available only for 18- to 25-year-olds, were 5.2%, 4.5%, and 9.7%, respectively. Incidence rates were about half as high as prevalence rates. Prevalence rates were similar across rural and nonrural counties. Higher risk of homelessness was observed among young parents; black, Hispanic, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) youth; and those who did not complete high school.

Conclusions: The prevalence and incidence of youth homelessness reveal a significant need for prevention and youth-centric systems and services, as well as strategies to address disproportionate risks of certain subpopulations.

Keywords: Adolescence; At-risk youth; Couch surfing; Doubled up; Housing insecurity; Housing instability; Runaway; Unaccompanied.

Figure 1

Prevalence rates in rural versus nonrural counties. Notes: The presented prevalence rates include adjustments for inclusion errors. Rural versus non-rural distinctions are based on U.S. Census data providing the number and percentage of people in each county living in rural and urban areas. Mostly rural means that at least 50% of the county’s population lives in rural areas as classified by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Figure 2

Logistic regressions for youth homelessness (aged 18–25, self-report). Note: The dependent variable is explicitly reported homelessness (excluding couch surfing only). Unadjusted relative risks (RRs) express associations between homelessness and one other variable only (e.g., female). Adjusted RRs present variable-wise RRs having controlled for all other variables in the model. Diamonds represent the RR while the extending lines on either side of the diamonds represent corresponding 95% CIs. A filled diamond indicates that the RR is statistically significant (p < .05). An RR of 1.0 means that risk is even between two groups. Each RR represents the difference in risk of having experienced homelessness between the group described by the variable (e.g., females) and its opposite reference group (e.g., males). The reference group for the “younger age group (18–21)” is respondents aged 22–25. Race variables compare to all others, of which the majority are White non-Hispanic (e.g., for Black or African-American, the reference group is all youth who were not Black or African-American). For the unemployed variable, the reference group is all youth who were not unemployed, including those who were employed or who were not in the labor force. Parent (unmarried) = the youth was an unmarried parent; Ann. hh income = annual household income.