Counting deaths would raise the 'not housed' share from 3.7% to roughly 6–9%

What this chart asks

How would King County's 96% 'stay housed' rate change if residents who died counted as not staying housed?

Why it is shown this way

• Bars from zero show the share that did not stay housed, the small number a 96% rate hides; the two death scenarios are highlighted against the published figure in gray.
• The two scenarios bracket the effect: overdose deaths in supportive housing alone, and all deaths the Medical Examiner records at a broader set of subsidized housing sites.

Data and accessibility

The chart's data and images are in the strip under it.

Dataset king-county-housing-retention-and-deaths, analysis not-housed-share

Sources

This chart draws on the sources of the dataset versions it visualizes.

King County supportive housing 'stay housed' rates and resident deaths

1. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), System Performance Measures HMIS Programming Specifications v1.0 (October 2025) The federal rule for measure 7b.2 (staying in or moving on from permanent housing), including Appendix A, which removes exits to Deceased from the measure

   Retrieved November 12, 2026. U.S. government work. Public record; figures restated, document linked

   Reliability: Government. HUD's technical specification that every homelessness system receiving federal Continuum of Care money must follow when it reports system performance. It sets the rule; it reports no local numbers.

2. King County Regional Homelessness Authority, Understanding System Performance Measures: A HUD Federal Report Overview (April 2025) The region's 96% figure for measure 7b.2 in federal years 2022 and 2023, with its counts

   Retrieved November 12, 2026. Public record. Public record; figures restated, document linked

   Reliability: Government. Has a stake in this finding. Slides from the regional agency that funds and oversees most of the county's homeless housing, reporting its own system's results to its advisory board.

3. King County Regional Homelessness Authority, Governing Board Performance Report, Quarter 2, 2025 Table 13 (98% of supportive housing households maintain or exit to permanent housing) and the report's definitions

   Retrieved November 12, 2026. Public record. Public record; figures restated, document linked

   Reliability: Government. Has a stake in this finding. The regional authority's own quarterly report to its governing board on programs it funds.

4. King County Regional Homelessness Authority, System Performance dashboard and methodology Permanently housed rate for permanent housing including supportive housing, 2019 to 2025 and July 2025 to June 2026, and the page's stated formula

   Retrieved November 12, 2026. Public record. Public record; figures restated, document linked

   Reliability: Government. Has a stake in this finding. The authority's public dashboard of homeless records (HMIS), which it says covers over 85% of programs; read by hand on November 12, 2026.

5. King County Department of Community and Human Services, Health Through Housing Annual Reports for 2024 and 2025 Supportive housing stability rates (95% in 2024, 93% in 2025), people served, and the residents who passed away while enrolled (15 and 10)

   Retrieved November 12, 2026. Public record. Public record; figures restated, document linked

   Reliability: Government. Has a stake in this finding. Written by the county department that runs the program. The 2024 report is at .../annual-reports/2024-health-through-housing-annual-report.pdf.

6. DESC, publications page with the 2024 annual report summary 94.6% of 466 people moved into supportive housing in 2024 kept their homes

   Retrieved November 12, 2026. All rights reserved (figures restated, page linked). Public record; figures restated, document linked

   Reliability: Other. Has a stake in this finding. DESC is the county's largest supportive housing operator, funded by the county and city, reporting on its own programs.

7. DESC, 2025 Annual Report 98% of clients kept their homes after one year

   Retrieved November 12, 2026. All rights reserved (figures restated, document linked). Public record; figures restated, document linked

   Reliability: Other. Has a stake in this finding. The operator's own annual report.

8. Plymouth Housing, 2025 Annual Report More than 95% of residents remain stably housed

   Retrieved November 12, 2026. All rights reserved (figures restated, document linked). Public record; figures restated, document linked

   Reliability: Other. Has a stake in this finding. Plymouth is Seattle's second-largest supportive housing operator, reporting on its own programs.

9. Public Health - Seattle & King County, King County Overdose Fatality Review 2024 Report 225 fatal overdoses in permanent supportive housing settings in 2024 (p. 10)

   Retrieved November 12, 2026. Public record. Public record; figures restated, document linked

   Reliability: Government. Written by the county health department's overdose review team from Medical Examiner records; it does not run housing.

10. Public Health - Seattle & King County, King County Overdose Fatality Review 2025 Report An average of 16 fatal overdoses a month among people living in permanent supportive housing, January 2024 to September 2025 (p. 17)

    Retrieved November 12, 2026. Public record. Public record; figures restated, document linked

    Reliability: Government. Same publisher and method as the 2024 review.

11. King County Medical Examiner's Office, Annual Report dashboard (Decedent Characteristics, presumed living situation: housing service site) Deaths of all causes among people whose presumed living situation was a housing service site, 2021 to 2025

    Retrieved November 12, 2026. Public record. Public record; figures restated, document linked

    Reliability: Government. The Medical Examiner investigates or reviews about one in five county deaths, mostly sudden or unexpected ones; its housing service site category mixes supportive, income-restricted and recovery housing. Read by hand on November 11, 2026.

12. Public Health - Seattle & King County, King County Fatal Overdose Dashboard (deaths by presumed living situation) Overdose deaths at housing service sites: 281 in 2023 and 235 in 2024

    Retrieved November 12, 2026. Public record. Public record; figures restated, document linked

    Reliability: Government. The county health department's public overdose dashboard, built from Medical Examiner records; pulled November 6, 2026.

13. HUD, 2024 Housing Inventory Count, Seattle/King County (WA-500) 7,768 permanent supportive housing beds in 2024

    Retrieved November 12, 2026. U.S. government work. Public record; figures restated, document linked

    Reliability: Government. Has a stake in this finding. The region's own count of beds reported to HUD each January.

Limitations

• Rough estimate. Overdose deaths are for 2024; the 487 deaths are Medical Examiner deaths at all subsidized housing in 2023, a broader group than the rate covers.
• HUD's rule removes residents who die from the measure; deaths are added back to its base only.