Homelessness surges to record levels in U.S.

The United States experienced its highest level of homelessness in 2024, with several states reporting triple-digit percentage increases as the nationwide housing crisis deepened, according to federal data released Friday, reported Xinhua.

The annual report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) revealed that 771,480 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2024, marking an 18.1 percent increase from 2023.

The most dramatic increases occurred in Illinois, Hawaii, and other states struggling with housing affordability challenges and surges in migrant arrivals.

HUD data showed Illinois recorded the nation's steepest rise, with a 116.2 percent increase that brought its homeless population to 25,832. The Chicago region accounted for 91 percent of this surge, primarily due to an influx of migrants. According to the report, new arrivals, including migrant and asylum-seeking families, made up more than 13,600 people in emergency shelters in Chicago.

Hawaii experienced the second-largest percentage increase, with an 87 percent rise pushing its homeless population to 11,637. The Maui wildfires last year played a significant role, with over 5,200 people staying in disaster emergency shelters during the count.

Massachusetts reported the third-highest increase at 53.4 percent, followed closely by New York at 53.1 percent. HUD noted that New York City's surge was primarily driven by asylum seekers, who accounted for almost 88 percent of the increase in sheltered homelessness in the city.

"No American should face homelessness," said HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman in the report. While acknowledging that the data was nearly a year old, she emphasized the importance of focusing on evidence-based efforts to prevent and end homelessness.

Colorado rounded out the top five with a 29.6 percent rise in homelessness. The state reported 18,715 people experiencing homelessness, with family homelessness more than doubling due to a 134 percent surge.

California alone accounted for nearly a quarter of the nation's homeless population, with 187,084 people experiencing homelessness -- roughly 48 per 10,000 residents, according to HUD.

The Golden State saw a 3.1 percent increase from 2023, adding 5,685 people to its homeless population. In California, 66.3 percent of people experiencing homelessness were living in conditions not meant for human habitation, such as streets, abandoned buildings, or vehicles.

Despite much effort and spending to increase housing for people without homes, Los Angeles has achieved only a 5 percent reduction in unsheltered homelessness since 2023.

"Increased homelessness is the tragic, yet predictable, consequence of underinvesting in the resources and protections that help people find and maintain safe, affordable housing," said Renee Willis, interim CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, as quoted in the HUD report.

The crisis has disproportionately affected different populations across states. Family homelessness saw the most significant single-year increase nationwide at 39 percent. Nearly 150,000 children experienced homelessness on a single night in 2024, a 33 percent jump from the previous year.

In Colorado, family homelessness more than doubled, while California reported 25,639 individuals in families experiencing homelessness. People identifying as Black, African American, or African remain disproportionately affected, accounting for 32 percent of those experiencing homelessness despite comprising only 12 percent of the U.S. population.

The surge in homelessness came amid a continuing affordable housing crisis. Communities reported that increases in the sheltered population reflected expanded shelter capacity, the end of eviction moratoriums and other pandemic-era protections, a shortage of affordable housing, and rising numbers of immigrants arriving in the United States.