Homeless people live below the poverty level. Many homeless people in the study areas chose to remain on the streets, even though the night of the study was a cold, rainy night. 24-hour businesses are excluded from the Census Bureau's count of homeless people, but the survey found this to be a common homeless location type. Over half of the homeless sites identified did not include evidence of encampments. Most homeless people were located in groups of four or less.
Most homeless people are regularly homeless.
Many people will remain on the street during the Census because they do not use food and shelter services at all. Homeless people disproportionately make up the ethnic and income groups who were undercounted in the 1990 Census.