Map Shows States With Higher Rates of Homelessness
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
America's homelessness crisis continues to grow despite the billions of dollars spent by federal and state authorities in recent years to address the problem, suggesting, experts say, that its root causes are not being addressed.
According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a record 771,480 people experienced homelessness on a single night in the United States in 2024—18 percent more than a year earlier. It was the highest number ever recorded by the federal agency.
The surge happened all across the American population, involving families with children, unaccompanied youth and adults living on their own, people with a history of homelessness and those without. Veterans were the only ones to experience an overall decline in homelessness last year.
However, when researchers at the American Enterprise Institute's (AEI) Housing Center examined the HUD figures, they discovered that homelessness rates were higher in states reporting the most acute housing shortages.
America's Homelessness Hotspots
Since 2020, the U.S. homeless population has increased by 33 percent at the country level. At the state level, the number of people experiencing homelessness has surged in 46 states since the pandemic, with Washington, D.C., Maryland, Wyoming, Mississippi, and Iowa being the only exceptions.
"While homelessness has worsened almost everywhere since the pandemic, there are clear hotspots, particularly in the West, the Northeast, and Illinois," Sissi Li, senior Data and Analytics manager at the AEI Housing Center, told Newsweek.
"When we look at homelessness per capita, the rates are the highest in Washington, DC, Hawaii, and New York, and lowest in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Virginia."
There is a difference between homelessness rates per capita and the actual numbers of people experiencing homelessness in any one state. Looking at the rate, New York and Hawaii are the states doing the worst in the entire nation, with a displacement rate of 8.1 percent each, indicating the point-in-time homeless count per 1,000 people.
The lowest rates in the country, on the other hand, were reported in Mississippi (0.4 percent), Louisiana (0.8 percent), and Virginia (0.8 percent).
But when looking at the sheer numbers of people experiencing homelessness in each state, California dominates the list with a total of 187,084, at a rate of 4.8 percent. New York followed with 158,019 residents experiencing homelessness on any one night in the state last year.
Not Enough Homes
The main factor driving up homelessness across the U.S. in recent years, Li said, is a lack of supply in the country's housing market. This is most acute in states experiencing higher rates of people without a roof over their heads, like California, New York, and Washington.
"Our research tested 54 different variables—from unemployment to climate—and found one single indicator with the most explanatory power: the median home price to median income ratio," Li said.
"As the median price-to-income ratio exceeds 5.0, the homelessness rate increases exponentially. Consider California and Texas, with median price-to-income ratios of 7.7 and 4.0 respectively. Yet California's rate of homelessness is over five times higher."
The solution to ease America's homelessness crisis, Li said, is to release housing pressure by building more homes.
"For decades, restrictive zoning and land use laws have created an artificial scarcity of homes. Across the country, we estimate a shortage of about 6 million homes. But this is fixable," Li said.
"Our case study comparing Los Angeles and Houston found that Houston, with lower minimum lot sizes, less onerous regulations, and more effective policies addressing homelessness, resulted in a more abundant housing supply, which in turn led to a homelessness rate of 0.5 compared to 7.8 for Los Angeles—15 times lower."
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