Feds Report 2.7% Uptick in Nation's Homeless Population Driven by California Surge

The federal government is reporting a 2.7% increase in the nation’s homeless population driven by a spike in California, according to an annual count that took place in January 2019.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is reporting the third consecutive uptick in its homelessness projection, based on a summary of its annual report obtained by The Associated Press.

The report attributed the national uptick “entirely” to a 16.4% increase in California’s homeless population.

“As we look across our nation, we see great progress, but we’re also seeing a continued increase in street homelessness along our West Coast where the cost of housing is extremely high,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson, echoing President Trump, who has been highly critical of the homeless problem in California. “In fact, homelessness in California is at a crisis level and needs to be addressed by local and state leaders with crisis-like urgency.”

Every year, communities around the country organize efforts to visit every shelter, park and alley in their area to count the homeless population. The single night snapshot represents a key benchmark to determine how the nation is faring in the effort to end homelessness.

In the January 2018 count, almost 553,000 people were counted as homeless. That number rose to about 568,000 this year.

About two-thirds of the homeless were living in emergency shelters, transitional housing programs and other sheltered locations. And slightly more than a third were on the streets and in abandoned buildings, vehicles and other locations considered unsuitable for human habitation.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state is doing more than ever to tackle the homelessness crisis, but the federal government also must step up and put “real skin in the game.”

“Federal leadership matters. Investments made during the Obama administration are proving effective and have contributed to more than a 50% drop in homelessness among veterans since 2010,” Newsom said.

California, he added, has invested an unprecedented $1 billion to help communities fight homelessness.

“But we have work to do," he said. “And we need the federal government to do its part.”

While the overall homeless count increased, there continued to be pockets of progress. The HUD count found 37,085 homeless veterans, a decline of 2.1% from 2018. The number of homeless families with children dropped nearly 5%.

The report finds that states with the lowest rates of homelessness per 10,000 people are Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Virginia and North Dakota.

The states with the highest rates were New York, Hawaii, California, Oregon and Washington. Washington, D.C. had a homelessness rate of 94 per 10,000 people, more than twice as high as New York.

Associated Press staff writer Adam Beam contributed to this report from Sacramento.