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Key Findings

Across nearly all measures examined, students who experienced homelessness reported greater hardship than students who had not experienced homelessness, including first-generation students who had not experienced homelessness.

Student homelessness is often hidden – and therefore easy to miss.

• Most students experiencing homelessness are not in shelters; they are staying temporarily with other people.
• 50% reported couch surfing and 73% reported moving in with others due to financial problems since starting college. Yet only 21% self-reported that they had been homeless, suggesting that relying on self-identification or narrow definitions will miss many students experiencing homelessness in less visible but harmful forms. 

Food insecurity is far more common among students experiencing homelessness.

• Nearly three-quarters (72%) of students experiencing homelessness had low or very low food security, compared with 44% of first-generation students and 36% of students who had not experienced homelessness. 

Mental health burdens are higher.

Students experiencing homelessness were more likely to screen positive for major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.

• Nearly half (48%) screened positive for likely major depressive disorder (compared with 31% of first-generation students and 28% of students who had not experienced homelessness).
• 60% screened positive for likely generalized anxiety disorder (compared with 44% of first-generation students and 40% of students who had not experienced homelessness). 

Work intensity is higher among students who experienced homelessness.

• Nearly three-quarters (72%) of students experiencing homelessness reported working for pay – higher than students who had not experienced homelessness (67%) and first-generation students (68%). Among students who worked for pay, 39% of students who experienced homelessness worked 40 or more hours per week, compared with 31% of students who had not experienced homelessness.

Despite working, financial hardship is nearly universal among students experiencing homelessness.

• Ninety percent (90%) of students experiencing homelessness reported financial difficulties, compared with 75% of first-generation students and 67% of students who had not experienced homelessness. 

Transportation barriers translate into missed class time.

• More than a quarter (27%) of students experiencing homelessness missed classes sometimes, often, or always due to unreliable transportation, compared with 13% of first-generation students and 11% of students who had not experienced homelessness. 

Work and child care demands more often disrupt education.

• Among working students experiencing homelessness, 71% said their job interfered with extracurricular or social engagement (compared with 57% of first-generation students and 51% of students who had not experienced homelessness).
• Students experiencing homelessness were also more likely to miss class due to job conflicts (39%, compared with 26% of first-generation students and 22% of students who had not experienced homelessness). 
• Among student parents experiencing homelessness, 35% missed class due to lack of child care (compared with 24% of first-generation students and 20% of students who had not experienced homelessness). 

Students experiencing homelessness are more likely to have foster care histories.

• Four percent (4%) reported being in foster care as teenagers, compared with 1% of students who had not experienced homelessness and 2% of first-generation students. Foster care histories reflect compounding adversity and reduced access to stable adult support, which can make it harder for students to navigate college systems, secure housing, and respond to crises without targeted help. 

Students experiencing homelessness report less institutional support despite greater need.

• Only about half (49%) agreed their institution has support services for their financial situation, compared with 62% of first-generation students and 62% of students who had not experienced homelessness.

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Overview of Strategies

Higher education remains one of the most powerful engines of economic mobility. However, because homelessness is often hidden and compounds hardship, institutions and policymakers should not assume that general “basic needs” initiatives will reach these students.

The data support policies and practices that intentionally identify and support students experiencing homelessness. The recommendations below reflect four overarching solutions aligned with what the data show.

1. Designate and Train Homeless Higher Education Liaisons

2. Make emergency aid accessible and responsive to homeless students

3. Support gap and year-round housing options

4. Improve support for students transitioning from high school