US homelessness increases by 18% in 2024

Homelessness in the US has surged by 18 percent in 2024, according to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), marking the largest single-year increase recorded in recent years.

The findings, released as part of HUD's 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report on Friday, provide a snapshot of homelessness on a single night in January.

The report revealed that a total of 771,480 people – or about 23 of every 10,000 people in the US – experienced homelessness in an emergency shelter, safe haven, transitional housing program, or in unsheltered locations across the country.

It estimated that 39 percent more people in families with children experienced homelessness between 2023 and 2024.

Children under the age of 18 were the group that experienced the largest increase in homelessness, with nearly 150,000 children experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2024, a 33 percent increase from 2023.

Black people, who made up 12 percent of the total US population and 21 percent of the US population living in poverty, represented 32 percent of all people experiencing homelessness, the data showed.

Factors

The report attributed the record-high homelessness in 2024 to several factors, including the national affordable housing crisis, rising inflation, stagnant wages, systemic racism, public health crises, natural disasters, increased immigration, and the expiration of Covid-19-era homelessness prevention programs.

"Our worsening national affordable housing crisis, rising inflation, stagnating wages among middle- and lower-income households, and the persisting effects of systemic racism have stretched homelessness services systems to their limits," the Department of Housing and Urban Development said.

Despite the overall increase, HUD reported progress in reducing homelessness among veterans. The number of veterans experiencing homelessness dropped by nearly 8 percent, from 35,574 in 2023 to 32,882 in 2024. Unsheltered veterans saw an even steeper decline of nearly 11 percent, from 15,507 in 2023 to 13,851 in 2024.

"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 Secretary Adrianne Todman said in a statement.

She emphasised the importance of evidence-based efforts to prevent and end homelessness.

"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," she added.