The federal government’s annual point-in-time report found that homelessness increased by 18% nationwide from January 2023 to January 2024, reaching a record level of nearly 771,500 people experiencing homelessness on a single night.
The newly-released report , compiled for Congress by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, estimated that the number of people experiencing homelessness increased by 33% over the last four years, a figure that includes a 40% increase in sheltered homeless people and a 21% increase in unsheltered homeless people.
Some of this increase was driven by a surge in asylum-seeking immigrants which contributed to a 39% increase in family homelessness and a 33% increase in child homelessness across the country, the report found, with an increase of more than 100% among homeless families in the 13 communities that said they were greatly affected by migration.
“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. “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.”