SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A 2023 statewide count of unhoused persons is lower than a 2022 count at the same time.

South Dakota Housing for the Homeless Consortium’s annual count of the homeless in South Dakota on January 24, 2023, found 1,282 people living on the streets or in shelters. That’s an 8% decrease from the 2022 count of 1,389.

Of the 1,282 people counted, SDHDA found that the majority (76%) were over the age of 24, 16% were under the age of 18 and 8% were between the ages of 18 and 24. At the time of the count, 73% of those surveyed were in a shelter the night of the count.