Alpharetta has the third-highest concentration of unsheltered residents in Fulton County, according to the county's 2026 Point-in-Time Count released Aug. 6 by the Fulton County Department of Community Development.

The annual survey, conducted Jan. 22, counted 323 people experiencing homelessness across Fulton County outside Atlanta, up 34% from 241 in 2025. Of those, 146 were unsheltered and 177 were in emergency shelter or transitional housing.

Alpharetta accounted for 15.1% of the unsheltered count, behind East Point at 21.9% and Roswell at 20.5%. Those three cities together represent 57.5% of all unsheltered individuals counted.

That's roughly 22 people.

Rapid rehousing beds collapse

The county's rapid rehousing capacity dropped from 148 beds in 2025 to 29 in 2026, according to GPB. The county's overall housing inventory fell 8.7%, driven largely by that decline, according to the county report.

Dawn Butler, with the Fulton County Department of Community Development, told GPB that the county's Continuum of Care plans to address the gap through "strategic partnerships" but acknowledged the instability of that approach.

"An organization that may have rapid rehousing this year, due to funding, whether it's government funding or private funding, they may not have it next year," Butler said. "So it's a continuum of work that we do and a continuum of reaching out."

Butler also noted that ice storms forced a date change for the 2025 count, which may have depressed that year's numbers and made the 2026 spike appear larger than the actual year-over-year trend.

Who is being counted

Adult-only households made up 85.9% of all unhoused households in 2026, up from 69.3% in 2025, according to Hoodline reporting on the count. Fulton County District 2 Commissioner Bob Ellis, whose district covers North Fulton including Alpharetta, has noted in county discussions that suburban homelessness in the area frequently involves employed people living in their vehicles while trying to hold onto jobs and keep their children in school, Hoodline reported.

Ellis posted on X on June 29 that Fulton County was accepting applications for more than $2.3 million in federal funding for nonprofits that help individuals and families pay rent, avoid eviction or secure housing, one avenue to address the capacity gap.

No response from Alpharetta

The Alpharetta-Milton Chronicle sought comment from Alpharetta city officials before publication regarding the findings. No response had been received by publication time.

Stan Wilson, director of the Fulton County Department of Community Development, said in the county's Aug. 6 release that the data guides planning and supports efforts to connect people with housing and services.

The next Point-in-Time Count is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2027. Residents and organizations can contact the county at [email protected] for information or to volunteer.