New federal homeless data underscores the need for ‘sustained’ funding

California managed to blunt a continued increase in homelessness, but much more work (and funding) is needed

By Caroline Grinder, legislative affairs lobbyist

A recent federal report found that although California’s homeless population remains larger than any other state, efforts to address the crisis are showing promising results. The number of homeless Californians increased by just over 3% in 2024 — a much lower rate than the nation overall and 40 other states. California is also leading the nation in the availability of year-round shelter beds. California’s year-round shelter bed capacity grew by 5.7% to over 200,000 beds.

Homelessness nationwide increased by 18%, with a record 771,480 people experiencing homelessness. The federal findings are part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual point-in-time count, a rough estimate of the number of people experiencing homelessness in a single night in January.

Nearly every population — particularly families with children — experienced an increase in homelessness. The only group to experience a decline were veterans, which the report notes is due to “targeted and sustained funding.”

For years, Cal Cities has called on state leaders to provide ongoing funding to address homelessness and increase the supply of affordable housing. This has helped secure one-time funding several years in a row. Cal Cities also supported Proposition 1 (2024), which included $6 billion for an estimated 11,150 new treatment beds and housing units.

California still has a long way to go, with more than 180,000 people experiencing homelessness in the state. A survey of 205 cities last year found that many cities are worried about their ability to reduce homelessness long-term without sustained state investment. The federal data underscores that now is not the time to cut critical homelessness funding. Securing new investments to address homelessness and increase affordable housing is again one of Cal Cities’ top priorities this year.

The findings arrived just before Gov. Gavin Newsom previewed the 2025-26 State Budget. Noting that the “word of the year” would be accountability, he previewed a new website that will track local governments' compliance with state housing and homelessness policies using publicly available data. The website is expected to launch by the end of the week. Cal Cities will share more information about this resource and the budget on Friday.