WASHINGTON – The number of homeless people in the U.S. has declined for a third straight year.

That’s according to a new government survey. The Obama administration says the drop is due in part to more people getting government vouchers that help pay housing costs.

The survey says more than 610,000 people were homeless last year.

That was down from more than 630,000 the previous year – a 4 percent drop, according to the Housing and Urban Development Department study.

The number of homeless military veterans was under 58,000, down 8 percent from the previous year. The number of chronically homeless people declined 7 percent, to about 93,000.

Since 2010, the number of homeless people has dropped 6 percent.