Homelessness in the United States

In the United States, the number of <a href="/facts/Homeless_people/uqVV2c5R">homeless people</a> on a given night in January 2024 was more than 770,000 according to the <a href="/facts/Department_of_Housing_and_Urban_Development/wSllVu8s">Department of Housing and Urban Development</a>. Homelessness has increased in recent years, in large part due to an increasingly severe <a href="/facts/Housing_shortage/yag8boCV">housing shortage</a> and rising home prices in the United States. Most homeless people lived in California, New York, Florida, and Washington in 2022, according to the annual Homeless Assessment Report. The majority of homeless people in the United States have been homeless for less than one year; two surveys by <a href="/facts/YouGov/P1THrSCy">YouGov</a> in 2022 and 2023 found that just under 20 percent of Americans reported having ever been homeless.
The main contributor to homelessness is a lack of housing supply and rising home values. Interpersonal and individual factors, such as mental illness and addiction, also play a role in explaining homelessness. However, mental illness and addiction play a weaker role than structural socio-economic factors, as West Coast cities such as <a href="/facts/Seattle/7lYIrCa6">Seattle</a>, <a href="/facts/Portland,_Oregon/wwBx1Hrv">Portland</a>, <a href="/facts/Homelessness_in_the_San_Francisco_Bay_Area/w5uPQcfl">San Francisco</a>, and <a href="/facts/Los_Angeles/pyXpYEX9">Los Angeles</a> have homelessness rates five times that of areas with much lower housing costs like <a href="/facts/Arkansas/Qun124UP">Arkansas</a>, <a href="/facts/West_Virginia/USP8LtCq">West Virginia</a>, and <a href="/facts/Detroit/S84s4PGo">Detroit</a>, even though the latter locations have high burdens of <a href="/facts/Opioid_epidemic_in_the_United_States/c4MfeJvg">opioid addiction</a> and <a href="/facts/Poverty_in_the_United_States/mLk5oLmm">poverty</a>.
Historically, homelessness emerged as a national issue in the 1870s. Early homeless people lived in emerging urban cities, such as <a href="/facts/New_York_City/YlyvFmVC">New York City</a>. Into the 20th century, the <a href="/facts/Great_Depression/5K13wcg0">Great Depression</a> of the 1930s caused a substantial rise in homelessness. In 1990, the <a href="/facts/U.S._Census_Bureau/heKtzoXX">U.S. Census Bureau</a> estimated the homeless population of to be 228,621, or 0.09% of the 248,709,873 enumerated in the <a href="/facts/1990_U.S._census/uPN5syw5">1990 U.S. census</a>, which homelessness advocates criticized as an undercount. In the 21st century, the <a href="/facts/Great_Recession/9LoVUhLf">Great Recession</a> of the late 2000s and the resulting <a href="/facts/Economic_stagnation/pS4nFhLR">economic stagnation</a> and downturn have been major driving factors and contributors to rising homelessness rates. Increases in homelessness broke records in 2022 and in 2023. In 2023, record levels of homelessness have been declared in Los Angeles and New York City, and other cities around the country have reported increased levels of homelessness, with the main drivers being a shortage of affordable housing and the increased cost of living. In 2024, homelessness increased by a record 18%.
Health complications are significant concern for homeless people, as lack of residence inhibits hygiene and access to healthy food, and exposes individuals to both cold and heat stress, violence, and traffic deaths. This contributes to increased mortality rates. In <a href="/facts/City_of_Grants_Pass_v._Johnson/8AcV1LFJ">City of Grants Pass v. Johnson</a> (2024), the <a href="/facts/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States/rJHothwW">U.S. Supreme Court</a> ruled that anti-camping laws do not constitute a <a href="/facts/Cruel_and_unusual_punishment/yzda0D13">cruel and unusual punishment</a> under the <a href="/facts/Eighth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution/s2chcYjm">8th Amendment</a> even when no shelter is available, allowing cities to jail and fine homeless populations for sleeping and camping outside.

Homelessness in the United States open-in-new

Homelessness in the United States