More Americans were homeless this year compared with 2023 as families continued struggling to afford rent and other basic necessities, federal officials announced Friday.
Across the U.S., more than 771,800 people lived without housing in 2024, according to a count taken annually on a single night in January. The number for January 2024 is 18.1% higher than in 2023, when officials counted about 650,000 people living in homeless shelters or in parks and on streets. In 2022, the population of people experiencing homelessness was about 580,000.
"The numbers are just mind-boggling to me," Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, told USA TODAY.
Many cities have struggled to build more affordable housing in recent years, while some communities have pushed for harsher laws banning tents and sleeping in public spaces. More local leaders across the U.S. need to invest in strategies to keep people in their homes when money is tight, experts told USA TODAY, otherwise the unhoused population will continue to grow.
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