LA County homeless count 2024: These are the latest numbers

LA's homeless population drops

For the first time in six years, the homeless population in Los Angeles County has gone down, very slightly, according to the results of the latest Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count. Unsheltered populations went down as well.

LOS ANGELES - After six years of steady rises, Los Angeles finally saw a slight decline in homelessness, that is according to the latest numbers from the 2024 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count.

On Friday, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) said the county saw a slight decline of .27% in overall homelessness countywide as well as a decrease in unsheltered homelessness of 5.1% in the county and 12.7% in the City of Los Angeles.

According to the report, there were 75,312 unhoused people in the county and 45,252 unhoused in the city of L.A. in 2024.

Unsheltered homelessness in the city of L.A. decreased by approximately 10.7%, while the shelter count increased by 17.7%.

The count also noted a reduction in chronic homelessness in the L.A. Continuum of Care, covering most of L.A. County except the cities of Long Beach, Pasadena and Glendale. There were 6.8% fewer people experiencing chronic homelessness -- a term used to describe individuals who have been homeless for more than a year while struggling with a disabling condition -- compared to 2023, the report said. Of those, some 9.4% were unsheltered while 7.5% more were in shelters.

In addition, the 2024 count showed family homelessness increased by 2.2%, though many families are in temporary housing. Among transition-age youth -- individuals coming out of the foster system between the ages of 16-24 -- homelessness decreased by 16.2% and veteran homelessness decreased by 22.9%.

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LAHSA reported that about 22% of unhoused individuals report experiencing serious mental illness, while another 24% of unhoused individuals report experiencing substance use disorder -- both figures decreased compared to 2023 and 2022.

Officials attributed the downward trends to "unprecedented policy alignment and investments" made by the city, county, state and federal governments, according to Paul Rubenstein, LAHSA deputy chief of external relations.

With more unhoused individuals entering shelter or other forms of temporary housing, Rubenstein said, officials are "cautiously optimistic about the direction of homelessness across L.A. County" and are in a position to move more people off the streets and into permanent housing.

"For so many years, the count has shown increases in homelessness, and we have all felt that in our neighborhoods," Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement soon after the latest numbers were released.

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"But we leaned into change. And we have changed the trajectory of this crisis and have moved L.A. in a new direction. ... This is not the end, it is the beginning -- and we will build on this progress, together."

Supervisor Janice Hahn released the following statement, "For the first time in years, the number of people sleeping on our streets is down and the number of people in our shelters is up. We have focused on shelters and we are doing a better job convincing people to come inside. The next step is building more permanent supportive housing and investing in long-term solutions to this crisis."