HUD Report: Homelessness Declined in California and Nationwide in 2025

A new report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reveals that homelessness rates in California and across the nation declined in 2025, marking the first year-over-year decrease since 2016.

In California, the number of people experiencing homelessness fell to 181,934, a 2.8% drop from 2024. The state was among five that saw the largest reductions in unhoused populations.

Los Angeles County reported approximately 2,394 fewer chronically homeless individuals, attributing the decline to street outreach, faster housing placements, and a system matching unhoused people with available apartments. Nationwide, homelessness decreased by 3.3%, with about 745,652 people experiencing homelessness—still one of the highest totals since HUD began tracking in 2007.

The National Homelessness Law Center credited the Biden administration's policies for the progress, while criticizing recent Trump-era initiatives such as a Louisiana bill requiring involuntary treatment or jail for unhoused individuals with addiction, and cuts to HUD programs. Despite the decline, homelessness remains high due to rising living costs, housing shortages, and inflation, particularly in California, where homelessness increased by about 30% from 2017 to 2024.

The report also noted that large numbers of new immigrants, including children, strained homeless response systems in 2023 and 2024.