Homelessness has increased by 18% in the United States this year, federal officials announced Friday, as the affordable housing crisis, inflation, stagnant wages and natural disasters take a toll on communities across the country.
More than 771,000 people, or about 23 out of every 10,000 people, were experiencing homelessness when the national survey was conducted in January, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual report.
The largest increase in homelessness was among households with children, at 39%. Nearly 150,000 children will experience homelessness on any given night in 2024, an increase of 33% from last year.
Conversely, veterans were the only group to experience a decline in homelessness, with homelessness decreasing by 8% from 2023 to 2024, according to the report.
Los Angeles, which reportedly has the highest number of unsheltered people in the nation, has decreased by 5% following investments in temporary and permanent housing programs. Dallas, which launched an effort to connect unsheltered families to housing and services in 2021, has seen a 16% drop this year.
“No American should face homelessness, and the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring every family has access to affordable, safe, and quality housing,” HUD Secretary Adrian Todman said in a statement. I will do my best to do so.” “While this data is nearly a year old and does not reflect the situation we are seeing, it is important to focus on evidence-based efforts to prevent and end homelessness. .”
Notably, this annual count was conducted months before a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowed cities to ban sleeping and camping on public roads. Since the June decision, cities and states, particularly in the western United States, have passed new policies allowing encampment clearance, which could impact future annual counts.
“The rise in homelessness is increasing the need for resources and protection to help people find and maintain safe and affordable housing,” Lenny Willis, incoming interim CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, said in a statement. “This is a tragic but predictable outcome of a lack of investment.” “As advocates, researchers and experts warn, the number of people experiencing homelessness continues to rise as more people struggle to pay exorbitant housing costs.”
Natural disasters and migration played important roles in the 2024 numbers.
According to the report, about 5,200 people were sleeping in disaster emergency shelters on the Hawaiian island of Maui as of the annual count. These numbers have changed since they were compiled to reflect the difficult task of rebuilding Lahaina, Hawaii, after a devastating fire destroyed the historic city in 2023. The data also reflects the devastating toll natural disasters have on communities, as climate change fuels an increase in wildfires. And a hurricane.
On the mainland, Chicago and Denver reported data showing that efforts to assist asylum seekers from other countries are partially contributing to an increase in homelessness in their cities. HUD noted that this data was collected before the Biden administration began restricting illegal border crossings, which have decreased by more than 60% since January.
As a result, Chicago, for example, experienced a more than 60% decline in immigrant shelter censuses, and Denver experienced a nearly 100% decline in shelter censuses and a significant drop in immigrant arrivals. Both cities ended their immigrant shelter programs earlier this year.
Among people experiencing homelessness, a majority identified as Black, African American, or African. They make up 12% of the U.S. population, but 32% experience homelessness, according to the report.
“The answer to ending homelessness is ensuring everyone has access to safe, stable and affordable housing. We must immediately scale up and support the rapidly increasing number of people who cannot afford rising rents,” said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
