Santee’s unsheltered homeless count fell 64.1% from last year, one of the sharpest city-level drops reported in San Diego County’s newly released 2026 Point-in-Time Count, according to NBC 7 San Diego.

Countywide, the number of people living unsheltered dropped 11%, from 5,714 in 2025 to 5,108 this year. The overall homeless population decreased by 1%, from 9,905 people to 9,803, while the number of people in shelters or transitional housing increased by 12%.

The annual count, conducted each January by the Regional Task Force on Homelessness, is a one-day snapshot used to help determine federal and state funding. Task force CEO Tamera Kohler said the results show progress where the region has invested in diversion, sheltering and encampment resolution, while warning that housing resources remain limited.

For Santee residents, the local drop adds a city-specific data point to an issue that has drawn attention along the San Diego River, in parks and around public spaces. El Cajon also posted a major decline, with NBC 7 reporting a 39.5% decrease in unsheltered homelessness there.

Regional leaders cautioned that senior homelessness remains a growing concern. Older adults now make up 33% of the unsheltered population, up from 29% last year, and more than half are experiencing homelessness for the first time, according to the report.

Source: NBC 7 San Diego — https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/in-past-year-number-of-unsheltered-homeless-people-in-san-diego-dropped-11/4018369/