QuickTake:

Lane County officials say a newer digital system that homeless services providers use is accurate. The in-person survey is required by the federal government, but only every other year.

This year Lane County will not do an annual count of the area’s homeless population, in which staff and volunteers fan out across the region in teams of four or five, counting people who are unsheltered or living in shelters.

For the county, it’s a departure from past practice, in place since 2005. In a release Thursday, the county said technological advancements have made it unnecessary to do the annual survey, which is known as a Point-in-Time count.

The county has a homeless management information system and a “by name list” that allows the county to see data of who has accessed services and who has an active case with a provider.

More than 30 agencies and 140 programs put data into the county’s homeless management information system. The county said recent Point-in-Time counts have added an average of fewer than 130 people each year who weren’t already being tracked through the data system.

Lane County spokesman Jason Davis said the Point-in-Time count takes a significant amount of time for county staff, not just during the event, but also to recruit volunteers and prepare.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires Point-in-Time counts of unsheltered people, but only every other year. Because Lane County conducted such a count in 2025, it’s not required again until 2027, when the county expects one will take place.

The county’s digital system will provide the data that the federal agency requires for local shelters and transitional housing programs. For information about usage and counts at individual shelters and related programs, go here to learn more. 

Lane County’s 2025 Point-in-Time count found 3,509 people in shelters or unhoused, a 14% increase from 2024.

Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.