How many people are in New York City homeless shelters?

83,563 people slept in a New York City Department of Homeless Services shelter on the night of Nov 10 2026, adults and children, as the city reports it.

Where does the $SHELTER number come from?

Tickerz reads it from NYC Open Data, Department of Homeless Services, DHS Daily Report. Daily, one day late. Each number is kept as it was first published, with a timestamped proof, and any later revision is shown beside it.

Can I download the $SHELTER data?

Yes, free and with no key: the full history as JSON at https://tickerz.com/api/indices/shelter and every period as CSV at https://tickerz.com/api/indices/shelter/history.csv.

$SHELTER

New York City shelter census

83,5630.2% downon the day before

people on Nov 10

Next print

Likely 83,602 for Nov 11, and between 83,440 and 83,768 eight times in ten. Track record

How it is counted

Normal83,698 to 83,843

Highest84,224Oct 19

Unusual days0

Counts: People who slept in a New York City Department of Homeless Services shelter each night, adults and children, as the city reports it the next day. One city, the largest shelter system in the country.
Why it is here: The country's biggest shelter system counts heads every night and posts it by morning. Almost nobody looks.
Source: NYC Open Data, Department of Homeless Services, DHS Daily Report
Terms: NYC Open Data. The city says there are no restrictions on the use of Open Data.
Cadence: Daily, one day late. Newest complete day Nov 10. Read Nov 12, 20:40 UTC.
Baseline: The prior 30 days, 14 needed.

Who pays and who collects

Who pays

$4.48B

City of New York, Department of Homeless Services

Total agency spending, all funds, not yet final, city fiscal year, Jul 2025 to Jun 2026. Source

$3.50BCity of New York, city fundsCity taxpayer share of the agency budget, city fiscal year 2026, executive plan. Source
$678.6MFederal governmentFederal share of the agency budget, city fiscal year 2026, executive plan. Source
$363.6MNew York StateState share of the agency budget, city fiscal year 2026, executive plan. Source
$156.37 a dayCity of New York, per single adultCost per day in single adult shelter facilities, city fiscal year 2026. Source
$277.01 a dayCity of New York, per family with childrenCost per day in family with children shelter facilities, city fiscal year 2026. Source

Who collects

$4.08B

Contracted human services providers, all

Agency human services contract budget, city fiscal year 2026. Source

$929.1MHANYC Foundation IncOne registered contract, hotel management for emergency shelter, contract term Jan 2025 to Jun 2026. Source
$708.8MWesthab, IncOne registered contract, shelter for families with children, contract term Apr 2024 to Jun 2057. Source
$513.0MVocational Instruction Project Community Services IncOne registered contract, single adult shelter, 200 beds, contract registered in fiscal 2025, ends Jun 2057. Source

Contract values are ceilings over terms that run up to 33 years, not money paid in a year, and no single primary table ranks every shelter operator by yearly payments. The per day figures are the city's own averages by shelter type; the report does not publish one cost per person per night.

Quote this number

83,563 people slept in a New York City shelter on the night of Nov 10 2026, according to city figures kept by Tickerz.

Source: Tickerz $SHELTER (New York City shelter census), from NYC Open Data, Department of Homeless Services, DHS Daily Report.tickerz.com/x/shelter

Asked often

How many people are in New York City homeless shelters?: 83,563 people slept in a New York City Department of Homeless Services shelter on the night of Nov 10 2026, adults and children, as the city reports it.
Where does the $SHELTER number come from?: Tickerz reads it from NYC Open Data, Department of Homeless Services, DHS Daily Report. Daily, one day late. Each number is kept as it was first published, with a timestamped proof, and any later revision is shown beside it.
Can I download the $SHELTER data?: Yes, free and with no key: the full history as JSON at https://tickerz.com/api/indices/shelter and every period as CSV at https://tickerz.com/api/indices/shelter/history.csv.

Resolution

Index

$SHELTER New York City shelter census. Rulebook v0.2, 2026-10-04.

Prints

Daily, one day late. The newest complete day is on the record after the daily proof at 12:40 UTC.

As first published

2026-11-10 is not timestamped yet. The daily proof at 12:40 UTC adds it.

The number as first published is final for settlement. A revision by the source is shown beside it and never replaces it.

Fallback

The city posts a night the next day. Until it lands the day stays open. A night that never lands is void.

Precision

Whole people, the city's total individuals in shelter for the night.

Cost to move

Not practical. The count is of people in city shelters, taken by the agency that runs them.

Grade

reference. A city agency's own nightly count, published as open data. A venue can read it directly.

For a rulebook

Settle on the number Tickerz first recorded for $SHELTER for the UTC day named in the contract, published at tickerz.com/x/shelter and in GET /api/indices/shelter, timestamped daily in Bitcoin with OpenTimestamps.

Embed

Theme

Size

Badge

Card

Card, iframe

<iframe src="https://tickerz.com/embed/shelter" title="$SHELTER on Tickerz" width="480" height="200" style="border:0;max-width:100%" loading="lazy" allow="clipboard-write"></iframe>

Proof and data

Proof: Every reading is timestamped in Bitcoin once a day, so nobody can change it later. The newest proof covers Nov 12, in Bitcoin block 975,557.Proof file Live feed How it works
Data: The full history, free, no key.JSON CSV API docs

Arena: No question open. Nov 14 opens when Nov 12 is complete and on file. The Arena.

Name a number

Name a number you want counted. Within 48 hours it is a ticker, or you get the plain reason it cannot be built. Answers