(KTXL) — The unhoused population in downtown Sacramento has decreased by 40% since last September, according to a report by Downtown Sacramento Partnership.

That percentage comes from a monthly census count by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, which counted 120 people in February compared to 200 in September 2022. 

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said he doesn’t believe the report has resulted from unhoused people moving to other places, as there have been no official sweeps of the area. 

Steinberg said the city’s biggest barrier is getting people off the streets. 

Currently, there are about 1,100 shelter beds in Sacramento, but more than 6,000 people are unsheltered in the county. 

“For people who wonder and doubt whether the foundation we have laid is actually working and actually making a difference, this data is heartening,” Steinberg said. 

Since June 2022, the city said its Department of Community Response and Downtown Partnership has moved 43 people to shelters such as sanctioned campgrounds, motels and affordable housing. 

The city said outreach teams have also provided services to over 500 unhoused individuals. 

Recently, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sacramento will receive 350 tiny homes, as part of an effort to reduce homelessness in the state. 

The governor’s office didn’t say where the tiny homes in Sacramento will be located, but the local government will be responsible for choosing their placement. 

As the unhoused population declines in downtown, the city said businesses in the area, such as the Downtown Commons, are thriving and housing projects are underway. 

Multiple events in downtown and at the Golden 1 Center have also contributed to the success of the area since the start of 2023. Basketball fans have flocked to the area with the success of the Kings and the first two rounds of March Madness bringing tons of visitors to the downtown venue. 

So far in 2023, the  Downtown Partnership said that 4.7 million people have visited, worked or lived in downtown, a 21% increase from the same time period as last year. 

About 3.9 million people spent time in the downtown area in the first three months of 2022, the city said.