A steep jump in homelessness in the United States was reported at 18.1% in 2024, with a total of more than 770,000 people reporting homelessness, according to US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This is largely credited to a lack of affordable housing, devastating natural disasters, and a significant increase in migrants in several large cities.
This year’s jump comes after a 12% increase in homelessness during 2023, fuelled by rising rents and the end of pandemic-based assistance programs. Federal authorities indicated that the count might be even higher in terms of the number of people at risk of being homeless, as it fails to account for people housed with friends or family out of housing insecurity. This now puts homelessness at nearly 23 out of 10,000 in the US, with blacks making up a significant population in the homeless ranks.
One of the most disturbing statistics was the near 40% increase in family homelessness, which was largely an effect of migrants arriving in cities such as Denver, Chicago, and New York. Family homelessness increased more than double in 13 cities, whereas it had less than an 8% increase in the other areas. Nearly 150,000 children were reported homeless on a single night, a 33% increase from the previous year. The devastating Maui wildfire that left over 5,200 in emergency shelters also contributed to the increase in homeless numbers.
According to advocates, this surge in homelessness is not an unexpected outcome of a lack of affordable housing and adequate services for those in need. Renee Willis, soon-to-be interim CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, pointed out that housing remains expensive, thereby making it hard for individuals to achieve stable housing.
Although this report did offer some optimism on other issues, including a sharp decrease of 8% in US veterans homelessness in 2024, it was more so on a local basis for cities like Dallas and Los Angeles. In total, these cities cut their populations by targeted investments and housing initiatives.
Rising trends are the issues the country continues to grapple with as far as addressing affordable housing and supporting vulnerable members of society is concerned.
