Homelessness in the US rose by 18.1% this year, reaching a record high, with the dramatic increase driven primarily by a lack of affordable housing as well as devastating natural disasters and a surge of immigrants in some areas of the country, federal officials said Said Friday.
Federally required data showed more than 770,000 people considered homeless across the country during a single night in January 2024, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said in a statement. New report. This estimate probably underestimates the number of homeless people, as it does not include people living with friends or family because they do not have a place of their own.
That jump comes over one 12% increase in 2023HUD blamed rising rents and the end of pandemic aid. The 2023 increase was also driven by people experiencing homelessness for the first time.
Vulnerable Americans have been hit hard in the years since the pandemic as many government supports ended, including eviction moratoriumAt the same time, housing costs are rising, causing record numbers of renters to be cost burdened, or paying more than 30% of their income on housing, According For the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.
“More people than ever before need help paying rent. More people than ever before are experiencing homelessness for the first time,” said the National Alliance to End Homelessness, a nonprofit focused on preventing and ending homelessness. wrote in an article in X Post About the HUD report.
Overall this number represents 23 out of every 10,000 people in the U.S. Black people are over-represented in the homeless population.
“No American should have to face homelessness,” HUD agency head Adrienne Todman said in a statement. He said the focus should remain on “evidence-based efforts to prevent and end homelessness.”
However, because the report is based on data collected approximately a year ago, it may not accurately represent current conditions, the statement said. For example, illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border are declined this yearMigrant apprehensions are set to reach 250,000 in December 2024, after hitting a record high under President Joe Biden.
increase in family homelessness
One of the most worrying trends was an almost 40% increase in family homelessness – one of the areas most affected by the influx of migrants to big cities. According to HUD, family homelessness more than doubled in 13 communities impacted by immigrants, including Denver, Chicago and New York City, while it increased by less than 8% in the remaining 373 communities.
Nearly 150,000 children experienced homelessness in a single night in 2024, representing a 33% increase from the previous year.
Disasters also played a role in the increase in the count, particularly last year's devastating Maui wildfire, which was the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century. More than 5,200 people were living in emergency shelters in Hawaii on the night of the count.
“Rising homelessness is a tragic, yet predictable consequence of underinvestment in the resources and protections that help people find and maintain safe, affordable housing,” Renee Willis, incoming interim CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, said in a statement. Let's help.” “As advocates, researchers and people with lived experience warn, the number of people experiencing homelessness continues to rise as more people struggle to afford skyrocketing housing costs.”
camping ban
The numbers also come as a growing number of communities are taking a tougher stance against homelessness.
Angered by the often dangerous and dirty tent camps, communities – especially in western states – are banning camping. It follows a 6-3 Supreme Court decision last year that found the ban on sleeping outside does not violate the Eighth Amendment. Homeless advocates argued that penalizing people who need a place to sleep would criminalize homelessness.
There was some positive news in the count, as homelessness among veterans continued to decline. Homelessness among veterans is expected to decline 8% to 32,882 in 2024. It was an even bigger decrease for unsheltered veterans, falling 11% to 13,851 in 2024.
“The decline in veteran homelessness provides us with a clear roadmap to addressing homelessness at scale,” Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, said in a statement. “With bipartisan support, adequate funding, and smart policy solutions, we can replicate this success and reduce homelessness across the country. Federal investments are critical to tackling the nation's housing affordability crisis and ensuring that every Americans should have access to safe, stable housing.”
Cities where homelessness is declining
Many big cities had success in reducing the number of homeless. Dallas, which worked to overhaul its homelessness system, sees its numbers drop 16% between 2022 and 2024. Los Angeles, which increased housing for the homeless, saw a 5% decline in unsheltered homelessness since 2023.
California, the most populous state in the US, continues to have the largest homeless population in the country, followed by New York, Washington, Florida and Massachusetts.
The sharp increase in the homeless population over the past two years runs contrary to the success America has enjoyed for more than a decade.
Going back to the first survey in 2007, the US made nearly a decade of steady progress in reducing the homeless population as the government specifically focused on increasing investments to get veterans into housing. The number of homeless people declined from approximately 637,000 in 2010 to approximately 554,000 in 2017.