ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The number of people experiencing homelessness in Asheville and Buncombe County increased again in 2026, with officials pointing to ongoing housing pressures and lingering impacts from Tropical Storm Helene.
The latest Point-in-Time count, conducted in February, identified 824 people experiencing homelessness, up 9 percent from 755 counted in 2025.
Of those counted this year, 334 people were unsheltered — living in places not meant for habitation such as encampments, vehicles and public spaces — while 390 were staying in shelters or transitional housing programs.
The annual count provides a one-night snapshot of homelessness and is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to guide federal funding and policy decisions. While considered an undercount, local officials say it offers a consistent benchmark for tracking trends.
Data from 2025 showed similar overall numbers but a sharp increase in unsheltered homelessness. That year’s count found 755 people experiencing homelessness, including 328 unsheltered individuals — a roughly 50 percent increase from 2024 levels.
About 35 percent of those unsheltered in 2025 reported their homelessness was tied to the effects of Tropical Storm Helene, which damaged housing and disrupted services across the region. The storm also contributed to a reduction in available shelter beds, including significant damage to facilities such as Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry’s Veterans Restoration Quarters.
Officials noted that federal reporting requirements also include people temporarily housed in hotel or motel rooms paid for by agencies. In 2025, that added 1,548 people in FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance program to the broader count of those displaced by Helene, though those individuals are tracked separately from the primary Point-in-Time figures.
Despite relatively modest increases in total numbers in recent years — from 739 people in 2024 to 755 in 2025 and 824 in 2026 — the data shows a continued shift toward more people living unsheltered.
Local leaders and service providers say they are closely monitoring that trend, along with the long-term housing impacts of Helene.
The Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care, the local planning body responsible for coordinating homelessness response efforts, conducts the annual count with the help of volunteers and reports the data to federal officials. The organization was established in 2024 and is expected to finalize its first strategic plan this year.
Officials say improvements in counting methods in recent years may also contribute to higher — but more accurate — totals going forward.