ECHO, which coordinates the regional response to homelessness between local governments and other organizations, released its 2025 State of the System report in early October. The analysis covers data from 2019-24, and points to a growing system that is more effectively matching clients to the services and housing they need.
"We're not where we want to be yet, although we are celebrating progress today. But the clear evidence is that what we’re doing and the investments we're making are having a positive impact," Mayor Kirk Watson said at the report's presentation Oct. 8.
The big picture
Austin and Travis County's homeless population both outside and in shelter reached nearly 5,000 as of this summer, based on ECHO estimates of the number of people who engaged with the response system in the first half of 2025. That figure is different than the estimated 3,238 people accounted for in the most recent regional Point in Time Count, a federally-required in-person tally on a single night that ECHO notes is likely an undercount.
More people than ever are seeking homeless services around the Austin area, with 28,348 clients served by programs in the response system in 2024.
Fewer people also sought services as first-time clients last year. ECHO reported that 5% decrease as the first dip in a "strong upward trend" of newly homeless people tracked since 2020. Joseph Erik Montaño, ECHO director of research and evaluation, said that slight decline suggests service providers around the area are doing a better job of re-engaging clients and connecting them with supportive programs while they await housing.
Zooming in
Local leaders credited recent gains to ongoing funding for homelessness programs and housing. Some key updates include the addition of hundreds of shelter beds and various supportive housing units for people exiting homelessness, expansions that've been backed with millions of dollars from the city and county in the past few years.
Total housing capacity across the system nearly doubled from 2019-24, accounting for all types of beds and units available. Last year, 3,055 people were housed across shorter-term rapid rehousing, longer-term permanent supportive housing, and other shelter or diversion programs compared with 1,539 in 2019.
"Thanks to investments in solutions that we know that work there are hundreds of new beds today that did not exist this time last year, both shelter and permanent housing beds," said county Judge Andy Brown. "Providers are showing that when we invest in the right scale, the system works and the solution is clear: Housing paired with services really can make a difference."
Securing a stable place to live through the system remains a lengthy process, with the median wait time between someone's initial housing assessment and final move-in sitting at just under 1 year. Still, that timeline as of 2024 decreased by several months from a median wait of more than 470 days in both 2022 and 2023.
Despite overall signs of improvements in the system, ECHO staff also pointed to many continuing disparities. Those include the significant overrepresentation of Black people in the homeless population versus Travis County overall, a rapidly rising share of homeless youth, and worse housing outcomes experienced by people with disabilities or higher medical needs—who make up more than half of those served by the system.
The approach
ECHO's new reporting follows years of renewed investment in the regional system that's been supported by both Austin and Travis County officials.
Last year, ECHO outlined a model to build on that work by adding thousands more housing units, hundreds of new shelter beds and access to more services over a decade. Council members formally voted to support that process in January, and this summer approved a city budget including tens of millions of dollars in spending recommended by Austin Homeless Strategies and Operations.
Elected officials and nonprofit representatives said further investments are needed to maintain the progress reported on this year. ECHO Executive Director Matt Mollica also called for increased state and federal partnerships, like the more than $60 million secured through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs in 2023 for local housing efforts.
"People will not invest in a system that they look at and think is spaghetti on the wall. We need to be coordinated, and we need to continue to talk with one voice," he said.
