Homelessness Drops in California and Nationwide, New Federal Report Shows

The number of people experiencing homelessness decreased in California and across the United States last year, according to a long-awaited federal report released Friday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The data, which marks the first decline in homelessness since 2016, has become a political flashpoint, with activists and the Trump administration offering competing interpretations.

California recorded 181,934 homeless individuals in 2025, a 2.8% decrease from 2024. Nationwide, homelessness fell by 3.3%, bringing the estimated total to 745,652 people.

The report was released after an unexplained five-month delay and serves as a key barometer for federal funding and policy decisions.

The Trump administration highlighted the decline as evidence that its policies—including immigration enforcement and a shift away from permanent housing—are working. HUD Secretary Scott Turner criticized the "housing first" approach, which prioritizes immediate housing without preconditions, saying it has failed to meaningfully reduce homelessness.

The administration aims to replace it with programs requiring sobriety and self-sufficiency, and has moved to redirect funds from permanent housing to temporary shelters.

In contrast, the National Homelessness Law Center noted that the decrease occurred while former President Joe Biden was still in office. "Homelessness is down because President Biden funded things that we know work, like housing and support," said spokesperson Jesse Rabinowitz.

The law center warned that the Trump administration is backtracking on progress.

The report also showed significant drops in other states: Illinois (44%), Hawaii (41%), Florida (11%), and New York (8%). In California, 17 communities reported decreases in chronic homelessness, with Los Angeles County seeing 2,394 fewer chronically homeless individuals.

Local officials attributed these gains to new housing, faster placement, coordinated systems, and increased street outreach.

The data comes from the annual point-in-time count, conducted in January by volunteers who tally people in shelters and on the streets. The count is widely considered an undercount.

This year, 14 of California's 44 continuums of care did not conduct a count, so HUD used 2024 data for those areas.

The Trump administration made notable changes to the report, removing all references to gender—including categories for transgender, gender questioning, and non-binary individuals—and replacing the term "people experiencing homelessness" with "homeless persons."

Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, expressed concern about future trends. "So much of the progress reflected in the 2025 count is due to targeted housing and service resources that were available in 2024," she said, "including the highly successful Emergency Housing Voucher program.

Unfortunately, the Trump Administration has largely deprioritized these tools and worked to dismantle the very systems that drove these reductions."