Merced County reported a total of 717 people experiencing homelessness in 2025, representing a 14.3% dip in the county’s unhoused population over the last year, according to the county’s newly-released 2025 Point-In-Time Count report.
Data from Merced County’s latest point-in-time count shows the size of the county’s unhoused community has fluctuated since 2020, when a total of 636 unhoused individuals, including 313 unsheltered and 323 sheltered, were counted.
The county’s total decrease this year means 120 fewer people are living unhoused in Merced County, compared to the 837 total unhoused population reported in 2024.
According to the 2025 data, about 346 of the 717 unhoused people living in Merced County are considered “unsheltered,” meaning they essentially are not sleeping in an emergency shelter or transitional housing situation.
That compares to 428 people considered unsheltered in 2024.
Local officials such as Merced Mayor Matt Serratto said the dip in numbers represents a growing homelessness management infrastructure of shelter capacity, outreach and enforcement.
“It’s a tough-love approach,” Serratto told The Merced FOCUS. “You can’t enable street life, but you also have to provide resources and get people into better situations,” he said.
He added the federal Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Grants Pass v. Johnson last year has helped local law enforcement better address public camping.
The court’s decision allows cities to have more leeway to arrest and cite those who sleep in public places, CalMatters reported. But critics have said the decision only criminalizes the unhoused, which ultimately makes it more difficult to gain employment.
Like many cities statewide, the Merced City Council approved a citywide anti-camping ordinance in November, along with increased penalties and fines for sheltering on public property.
The report’s numbers come after Merced County officials cleared two large public encampments in April, dispersing more than 100 people and removing more than 16 tons of waste from both encampments.
What the data says about each city
Merced has the highest population of unhoused residents, 520, among the county’s six incorporated cities, reporting a total of 320 sheltered and 200 unsheltered individuals counted this year.
That was a 14.9% and 9.2% decrease for those categories of homelessness respectively in 2025.
Merced County’s other cities shared a similar downward trend in their unhoused communities, with the exception of Gustine, where there was no change, and Livingston, which saw an increase.
From 2024-25, Atwater’s unhoused population went down roughly 32% from 53 to 36 individuals, and includes 17 sheltered and 19 unsheltered individuals.
In Dos Palos, the number of unhoused individuals fell from five to four unsheltered residents.
In Los Banos, the number decreased roughly 23.5% from 149 to 114, including 28 sheltered and 86 unsheltered individuals.
Livingston is the only city that saw increased numbers, from one unsheltered person experiencing homelessness in 2024 to nine unsheltered individuals in 2025, an 800% increase.
The county’s unincorporated areas all had a decrease or no change in their unhoused population. Only South Dos Palos saw an increase, with four more unsheltered residents counted this year, from 8 in 2024 to 12 in 2025.
Annual count of people experiencing homelessness
The Point-In-Time Count report is an annual survey identifying the number of unhoused people on a single night in January. It’s led by the Merced County Continuum of Care (CoC), an agency established by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to address homelessness within a specific region.
Data collected from the survey informs organizations working with local and state governments on how to provide resources and housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
This year’s count was conducted on Thursday Jan. 23 by volunteers with Merced City and County Continuum of Care who counted unhoused individuals countywide.
In addition to enforcement strategies, city officials say they have been collaborating with property developers to build new affordable housing projects that support unhoused individuals.
There are more than 700 units of affordable housing in different stages of development countywide to help low-income and unhoused residents.
“Our folks who are unhoused typically have a negative rental history, including evictions,” Christy McCammond, housing program manager at city of Los Banos, told The FOCUS in April.
Under her leadership, Los Banos officials have launched the One Tree project, the city’s first permanent housing development for individuals experiencing homelessness.
“What that means is, even if you found an affordable and available rental unit, usually the rental applications of those we serve are denied. That’s why it is so increasingly important to not only have affordable housing but affordable housing designated for people experiencing homelessness,” she said.
To read more about the 2025 Point-In-Time Count report, visit Merced’s CoC website: Point-in-Time Count.