The 2026 Point-in-Time Count (PIT) found 394 people experiencing homelessness in Nevada County — a 15.4% decrease from the prior count and the lowest total since 2019. The PIT Count is a federally mandated annual census of sheltered and unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness on a single night in January.
After years of watching those numbers climb to a peak of 527 in 2022, the trend has turned. Nevada County has reduced its homeless population by more than 120 people in four years.
California still has the largest number of people experiencing homelessness in the nation — and statewide, the rate has barely budged, dipping from 48 to 46 per 10,000 residents. Nevada County is now meaningfully below that state rate and moving in the right direction, at roughly 39 per 10,000 residents.
A significant part of what’s driving our local progress is housing. In 2025, Hospitality House opened the newly remodeled Glenwood Commons, formerly Sierra Guest Home, permanent housing for 27 seniors formerly experiencing homelessness — and added transitional housing for 13 more individuals and families. Combined with Brunswick Commons and scattered-site housing, Hospitality House now operates 136 units across the full continuum from emergency shelter to permanent homes. Each of those units is someone who wasn’t sleeping outside on a cold January morning — which is exactly what the PIT Count measures. And with the opening of 11 units at Empire Commons, Hospitality House continues to solve for homelessness in 2026.
This is a local issue. Hospitality House’s mission is to serve residents from Nevada County – neighbors who are struggling – and they are finding help through community investment.
The work isn’t finished — housing costs remain high, and shelter capacity remains stretched. But the data is telling us something tangible: what this community is building together is working.
To make a donation and help more of our homeless neighbors on their path to housing, click HERE.