Pleasanton's homeless population grew over the last two years, according to city-level figures from Alameda County's 2026 Point-in-Time Count, even as the countywide number kept falling.
Volunteers counted 96 people experiencing homelessness in Pleasanton during the January count, up from 70 in 2024 and 72 in 2022, the county's Pleasanton infographic shows. That is an increase of 26 people, or about 37%, in two years.
Across Alameda County, the total fell 13%, from 9,450 in 2024 to 8,201 this year, and the number of people without any shelter dropped about 18%, from 6,343 to 5,202. Alameda County Health released its full report on Oct. 28, along with dashboards and infographics for each city, the Alameda Post reported.
Pleasanton was not alone in moving against the county trend. Livermore's count rose to 343 from 277 in 2024, with 240 of those people unsheltered, according to its infographic. Preliminary results released in the spring had already shown increases in Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, Berkeley and Fremont, NBC Bay Area reported at the time.
Who was counted
The Pleasanton snapshot covers people enrolled in shelter programs in the city on the night of Jan. 21 and people interviewed or observed without shelter early on Jan. 22. Survey responses there showed about 72% of those counted identifying as men.
People ages 45 to 54 made up the largest age group, at about 28%, followed by those 25 to 34 and 35 to 44, at about 25% each. About 4% were 65 or older.
The county cautions that survey samples at the city level are small and that the results should be read with care. The count is a single-night, volunteer-run tally required every two years by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and county homelessness director Jonathan Russell has said it is not a perfect measure.
