The variety of homeless folks throughout L.A. County declined 4% in 2025, marking the second consecutive drop after years of regular will increase, with a ten% lower of individuals dwelling within the streets, in keeping with the annual depend launched Monday.
The decline, based mostly on a snapshot taken in February, follows billions in taxpayer funds spent to unravel homelessness within the county, and comes with rising scrutiny of how the cash is being spent.
Officers with the Los Angeles Homeless Providers Authority, which conducts the depend, mentioned the declines present the funding is working, significantly in decreasing the inhabitants of unsheltered homeless people — that’s folks dwelling on the streets quite than in non permanent housing.
Prior to now two years, the town and county have more and more targeted on clearing encampments and offering a suggestion of a shelter mattress or a room in a resort or motel.
“Decreasing homelessness is now a pattern in LA Metropolis and county,” mentioned Paul Rubenstein, LAHSA’s deputy chief exterior relations officer. “Our leaders got here collectively to deliver folks inside and their efforts are paying off.”
The 2025 numbers symbolize the primary time, since its inception in 2005, that the cut-off date homelessness depend has proven declines in total homelessness two years in a row, Mayor Karen Bass mentioned.
“Homelessness has gone down two years in a row as a result of we selected to behave with urgency and reject the damaged establishment of leaving folks on the road till housing was constructed,” she mentioned. “These aren’t simply information factors — they symbolize hundreds of human beings who at the moment are inside, and neighborhoods which are starting to heal.”
How sturdy a pattern is dependent upon the way you take a look at it. Final yr, total homelessness declined barely in each the town and county, however the drops have been too small to be statistically important.
Unsheltered homeless, nonetheless, did meaningfully decline in 2024.
This yr, the drops in each classes have been outdoors the margin of error.
In all, there have been an estimated 72,308 folks dwelling in shelters or on the streets within the county in February, a 4% discount from the 2024 depend. Within the metropolis of L.A., homelessness fell 3.4% to 43,699.
The unsheltered inhabitants noticed bigger declines.
In February, there have been an estimated 47,413 folks dwelling on the streets within the county and 26,972 within the metropolis, annual declines of 9.5% and seven.9%, respectfully.
During the last two years, the unsheltered inhabitants within the county has dropped 14%, and 17.5% within the metropolis.
Rubenstein mentioned these numbers have fallen largely due to encampment decision efforts.
These embody Mayor Bass’ Inside Protected initiative and the county’s Pathway House, each which give attention to shortly shifting folks off the streets and into interim — and generally everlasting — housing.
Los Angeles Metropolis Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who chairs the housing and homelessness committee, mentioned she was “proud” to see the numerous lower in unsheltered homelessness within the metropolis.
“[When you’re unsheltered], you’re the sufferer of assault, crime, sexual assault. Girls are terribly unsafe,” she mentioned. “Unsheltered homelessness is what housed folks see. That’s what feels difficult for the town.”
As extra folks transfer into shelter beds, lodges and motels on what’s presupposed to be a short lived foundation, the variety of people who find themselves sheltered, however with out a everlasting house grew.
In 2025, the sheltered homeless inhabitants was up 8.5% within the county and 4.7% within the metropolis, in keeping with the depend.
Traditionally, about 25% of the homeless inhabitants is sheltered, however that quantity rose to about 38% within the metropolis and 34% within the county in February.
LAHSA, which abroad the area’s homeless service system, mentioned it’s making progress on getting folks into everlasting housing.
Final yr, company information confirmed 11,146 folks moved from interim housing right into a everlasting house, 23.5% greater than in 2023.
The annual homeless depend was carried out from February 18 to Feb. 20.
Volunteers unfold out throughout the county and counted the variety of folks they see sleeping out within the open. In addition they tallied the variety of tents, makeshift shelters and autos the place individuals are probably dwelling.
Researchers at USC then use a separate demographic survey to estimate how many individuals, on common, live in every of these dwellings.
The numbers launched Monday aren’t the one proof homelessness has declined, no less than in some locations.
Earlier this month, researchers at RAND launched findings of a extra intensive survey that discovered unsheltered homelessness declined in Hollywood and Venice final yr, whereas rising in Skid Row, contributing to a 15% drop when the three neighborhoods have been mixed.
The 2 experiences come at a crucial time for Los Angeles’ homeless service supply system, which for many years has been overseen by LAHSA.
Within the final yr, two audits discovered LAHSA lacked enough oversight of its contracts and applications, leaving them susceptible to waste and fraud.
Following these experiences, the County Board of Supervisors voted in April to maneuver a whole bunch of tens of millions of county {dollars} out of LAHSA and put it into a brand new company that can launch subsequent yr.
L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath mentioned the lower in total homelessness within the county is “progress,” however that the decline will not be quick sufficient.
“That’s why Los Angeles County is launching a brand new, devoted division — one that’s coordinated, accountable, and designed to satisfy the urgency of this second,” she mentioned. “It should streamline providers, break by forms, and ship outcomes throughout all 88 cities and unincorporated communities.”
In a presentation to reporters final week, LAHSA mentioned it has labored to enhance effectivity within the final two years, in addition to improve coordination with native officers, which it mentioned helped contribute to decrease ranges of homelessness.
Los Angeles Metropolis Councilman Bob Blumenfield, nonetheless, mentioned he takes “any information LAHSA makes public with a grain of salt” and mentioned given price range issues throughout all ranges of presidency “we have to preserve exploring inventive concepts and construct several types of housing as a result of the ratio of funds spent to progress will not be sustainable.”
Certainly, shifting folks off the streets might quickly get harder.
The Trump Administration desires to chop funding for the federal rental subsidy generally known as Part 8. Whereas the state and county have already minimize some funding for homeless providers amid price range constraints, together with some funds LAHSA has used to maneuver folks out of shelters and into residences.
Rubenstein mentioned that discount particularly means it is going to be arduous to “keep this tempo” of shifting folks into everlasting housing and why its so necessary to “decide to the creation of recent everlasting housing” domestically by entities like the brand new L.A. County Inexpensive Housing Options Company.
Instances reporter Doug Smith contributed to this report.
