U.S. homelessness rises 18% amid affordable housing shortage

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Homelessness rose 18% in the U.S. this year as the affordable housing crisis, inflation, stagnant wages and natural disasters pummeled communities across the country, federal officials said Friday.

More than 771,000 people — or about 23 of every 10,000 — experienced homelessness when the national count was conducted in January, according to an annual report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Families with children saw the largest increase in homelessness, at 39%. Nearly 150,000 children experienced homelessness on a single night in 2024, representing a 33% increase from last year.

Conversely, veterans were the only group to experience a decrease in homelessness, which dropped by 8% from 2023 to 2024, according to the report.

Los Angeles, which has consistently reported the highest number of unsheltered people in the country, saw a 5% decrease following investments in temporary and permanent housing programs. Dallas, which in 2021 launched an initiative to connect unsheltered families to housing and services, saw a 16% drop this year.

"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," HUD Agency Head Adrianne Todman said in a statement. "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."

Notably, the annual count was conducted months before a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowed cities to ban sleeping and camping on public streets. Since the June decision, cities and states, especially in the Western U.S., have passed new policies that allow encampments to be removed, which could impact the annual count moving forward.

"Increased homelessness is the tragic, yet predictable, consequence of underinvesting 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. "As advocates, researchers, and people with lived experience have warned, the number of people experiencing homelessness continues to increase as more people struggle to afford sky-high housing costs."

Natural disasters and immigration played a key role in the 2024 numbers.

Some 5,200 people on the Hawaiian island of Maui were sleeping in disaster emergency shelters at the time of the annual count, according to the report. Those numbers have shifted since the count was conducted, reflecting the difficult work of rebuilding Lahaina, Hawaii, after a monstrous fire razed the historic town in 2023. The data also reflects the devastating toll natural disasters can have on communities as climate change fuels more wildfires and hurricanes.

On the mainland, Chicago and Denver reported data indicating that their work helping asylum-seekers from other countries led, in part, to more homelessness in their cities. HUD pointed out the data was collected before the Biden administration began restricting illegal border crossings, which have dropped by more than 60% since January.

As a result, migrant arrivals have dropped significantly in Chicago, for example, where the migrant shelter census is down more than 60%, and in Denver, where the shelter census is down nearly 100%. Both cities ended their migrant shelter systems earlier this year.

People who identify as Black, African American or African were overrepresented among people experiencing homelessness. They comprise 12% of the U.S. population, but 32% of the people experiencing homelessness, according to the report.

"The answer to ending homelessness is ensuring everyone has access to safe, stable, and affordable housing. Our leaders must immediately expand the resources to rehouse people without homes and assist the rapidly growing number of people who cannot afford skyrocketing rents," said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Alicia Victoria Lozano

Alicia Victoria Lozano is a California-based reporter for NBC News focusing on climate change, wildfires and the changing politics of drug laws.

Insiya Gandhi contributed.