According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's latest report on homelessness in the United States, 653,104 Americans were homeless in 2023. Last year, levels of homelessness climbed for the sixth consecutive year. While in 2017 and 2018, growth was slow, homelessness increased more in 2019 and 2020 and finally skyrocketed in 2023 by growing 12 percent compared to the year prior and even climbing 10 percent above the 2007-2022 average. As Covid-era protection programs expired and the cost-of-living crisis hit the country, homelessness numbers rose. At the same time, Covid restrictions on shelter capacity ended, leading to more homeless individuals living in shelters once again. During Covid-19, most of the increase in homeless populations had come from unhoused individuals. In 2023, sheltered populations rose by more than 14 percent, while unhoused populations rose by less than 10 percent. However, the share of the sheltered homeless population held steady at around 60-61 percent since the pandemic started.
More than 650,000 Americans were homeless in 2023, the latest number available from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. After a period of progress and decline, the U.S. homeless population increased slightly in 2019, 2020 and 2022 before taking a major step up in 2023, according to the report. It now stands at 653,104 individuals with 60 percent living in shelters. The total number is a 12 percent increase from 2022 and a 10 percent increase from the 15-year average between 2007 and 2022, marking a major shift in U.S. homeless populations. The count takes places in the first month(s) of every year, but is only published around a year later. While the number of sheltered individuals took a dip in 2021 due to Covid-19 precautions, U.S. shelters housed almost 400,000 in 2023. This marks an increase of almost 14 percent to the previous year, while the unsheltered homeless population rose by almost 10 percent in the same time period.
