The United States saw an 18.1% increase in homelessness this year, which federal officials attribute to a rising number of asylum seekers, lack of affordable housing and natural disasters.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Friday released its 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report: Part 1: Point-in-Time (PIT) Estimates, which documents the number of people in shelters, temporary housing and unsheltered settings.
The report found more than 770,000 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024, an 18% increase from 2023.
More than a dozen communities reported data to the HUD that showed the rise in overall homelessness was a result of a rising number of asylum seekers coming into their communities.
A dog barks as a homeless person sleeps in the backyard of an abandoned house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
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Migration had a particularly notable impact on family homelessness, which rose 39% from 2023 to 2024, according to the report. In the 13 communities that reported being affected by migration, family homelessness more than doubled.
In the remaining 373 communities, the rise in families experiencing homelessness was less than 8%, officials noted.
Rents have stabilized significantly since January 2024, with the HUD adding 435,000 new rental units in the first three quarters of 2024, according to the report.
The PIT count was conducted at the tail of significant increases in rental costs, “as a result of the pandemic and nearly decades of under-building of housing,” officials said. “Rents are flat or even down in many cities since January.”
An aerial image taken on August 10, 2023, shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina along the Pacific Ocean in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
The HUD said the Maui fire, in addition to other natural disasters, had an impact on the increase in homelessness. Thousands affected by the fire were sleeping in disaster emergency shelters on the night of the PIT count.
“This report reflects data collected a year ago and likely does not represent current circumstances, given changed policies and conditions,” department officials wrote in a statement. “… Importantly, this reporting was collected prior to the Biden-Harris Administration taking executive action to secure our border, after Congressional Republicans blocked a bipartisan Senate bill that would have provided needed resources and authorities to help reduce irregular migration.”
In the statement, officials said unlawful crossings at the border dropped by more than 60% following the executive action.
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Homelessness among veterans dropped to the lowest number on record, with nearly an 8% decrease – from 35,574 in 2023 to 32,882 in 2024, according to the report. Among unsheltered veterans, the number dropped nearly 11% – from 15,507 in 2023 to 13,851 in 2024.
The HUD said it helped connect nearly 90,000 veteran households to stable rental homes through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program in 2024 and the Department of Veterans Affairs permanently housed 47,925 veterans — marking the largest number of veterans housed in a single year since 2019.
Douglas Bue, 65, pushes his wheelchair to his tent next to a homeless encampment outside the West L.A. Veterans Affairs facilities on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“No American should face homelessness, and the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring every family has access to the affordable, safe, and quality housing they deserve,” said Adrianne Todman, HUD agency head. “While this data is nearly a year old, and no longer reflects the situation we are seeing, it is critical that we focus on evidence-based efforts to prevent and end homelessness. We know what works and our success in reducing veteran homelessness by 55.2% since 2010 shows that.”
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On Friday, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a series of measures to address homelessness across the country, including expanding the Housing and Services Partnership Accelerator with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and awarding nearly $40 million to support veterans through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program.
