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Average length of stay — Adult families in shelters (days)
Coordinate and provide support services to help individuals and families experiencing homelessness exit shelter as quickly as possible. — Facilitate exits and minimize clients’ length of stay in shelters.
Average length of stay for adult families in shelter has fallen by more than half since FY22, dropping every year through FY25. DHS attributes the decline both to a large share of recently arrived asylum-seeking families with inherently shorter stays and, more recently, a deliberate agency push in FY25 to speed exits for long-term shelter stayers in this population.
Researched July 15, 2026 — DHS, Fiscal 2024 Mayor's Management Report, DHS, Fiscal 2025 Mayor's Management Report
* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above.
View as table
| Fiscal year | Actual |
|---|---|
| FY22 | 855 days |
| FY23 | 750 days |
| FY24 | 498 days |
| FY25 | 379 days |
| FY26 (YTD) | Not available |
Why this is tracked
New York City has cycled through several rental-subsidy programs aimed at moving shelter residents into permanent housing quickly, a strategy known as rapid rehousing, starting with Housing Stability Plus in the mid-2000s and later Advantage New York. When state funding for Advantage was cut in 2011, homelessness rose 38 percent within three years, prompting the City to rebuild and expand rehousing programs. Today, subsidies like CityFHEPS account for the large majority of subsidized shelter exits, and DHS reports that the vast majority of households who receive a subsidized placement do not return to shelter within a year.
City Programs Help More Than 100,000 New Yorkers Exit Shelter or Avoid Shelter Since 2014, Urban Institute: Homelessness Prevention, Intake, and Shelter for Single Adults and Families
Source: DHS CARES Database — via NYC Open Data: Mayor's Management Report, Agency Performance Indicators
Coverage shown: FY22–FY26, reported monthly.
Definition: The average number of days adult families spend in shelter, excluding overnight facilities, from their first date of application. Families who leave the DHS shelter system for more than 30 days are considered new applicants.