Homelessness in L.A. decreases for a second year consecutively: 4 insights from the 2025 tally

Homelessness in Los Angeles County has fallen for the second successive year, according to the findings from the 2025 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count.

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority declared that there are 72,308 individuals facing homelessness countywide — including 43,699 in the city of Los Angeles. This indicates a 4% reduction across the county and a 3.4% decline in the city compared to 2024.

LAHSA manages the largest count of its type in the United States and provides a point-in-time overview of homelessness throughout the region. Conducted from Feb. 18-20, the count integrates street tallies, shelter data, and demographic surveys to approximate the number of individuals facing homelessness.

The count encompasses the Los Angeles Continuum of Care, which includes most municipalities and unincorporated areas within the region, excluding Pasadena, Glendale, and Long Beach.

Researchers from USC have been instrumental in the count’s methodology since 2017. Benjamin Henwood, director of USC’s Center for Homelessness, Housing and Health Equity Research at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, spearheads the design and analysis of the count.

“For many individuals viewing these figures and observing fewer people on the streets, alongside more individuals in shelters, is interpreted as a positive step forward,” Henwood stated to City News Service. “To clarify, while there has been an overall reduction in figures, which again is encouraging, shelter by itself is not a solution to homelessness.”

Henwood, who also directs the Homelessness Policy Research Institute — a collaborative effort between USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and the USC Price School of Public Policy — mentioned that the 2025 count incorporates a margin of error of approximately plus or minus 1,300 individuals. This estimate is derived from a survey that Henwood’s team conducts with over 4,000 unsheltered individuals indicating that, on average, there are 1.75 persons residing in every vehicle, tent, or makeshift shelter observed by volunteers during the count nights.

Here are four key insights from the 2025 count:

1. Unsheltered homelessness is declining.

The amount of individuals living on the streets or in unsuitable accommodations fell by 9.5% in the county and 7.9% in the city. Over the past two years, unsheltered homelessness has decreased by 14% countywide and 17.5% in the city.

Brett Feldman, director and co-founder of USC Street Medicine and associate professor of family medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, remarked that the statistics reflect increasing momentum in outreach and housing initiatives. Feldman has been instrumental in launching over 200 street medicine programs globally.

“What I’ve observed is that, compared to when I initiated this work in L.A. in 2018, it’s significantly easier to assist individuals into housing,” Feldman
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informed KABC-TV.

2. Increasing numbers are utilizing shelters.

In conjunction with reductions in unsheltered homelessness, data indicates a rise in the amount of individuals residing in shelters. Across the county, the sheltered demographic expanded by 8.5%, with a 4.7% increase in Los Angeles itself.

The results correspond with the growth of encampment resolution initiatives such as Inside Safe, managed by the city, and Pathway Home, a county program, which emphasize swiftly transitioning individuals into temporary accommodation and support services. Since their launch, both programs have relocated 6,317 individuals to interim housing and permanently housed 1,449 individuals.

3. Permanent housing placements are at historic highs.

In 2024, nearly 28,000 individuals were placed into permanent housing throughout Los Angeles County — the largest number recorded and a 2.5% increase from the previous year, as stated by LAHSA. The agency attributes this progress, in part, to the introduction of nearly 3,000 new units of permanent supportive housing, many of which were made possible through Proposition HHH funding.

“Essentially, we’re witnessing what we wished for: a decline in unsheltered homelessness, along with increases in both transitional and permanent housing allocations,” Feldman remarked. “Individuals are progressing through the continuum.”

Nevertheless, the demand remains immense. In 2024 alone, over 60,000 individuals sought homelessness services for the first time, and the area continues to confront a shortage of more than 485,000 affordable housing units, according to LAHSA.

4. Chronic homelessness is on the decline.

Focused programs targeting the most at-risk individuals — those facing long-term homelessness — have resulted in a nearly 22% decrease since 2023, with approximately 6,000 less individuals categorized as chronically homeless.

Chronic homelessness is classified by federal criteria as enduring for at least 12 continuous months — or occurring in four distinct episodes over three years — and involving a debilitating condition such as severe mental illness, substance use disorder, or physical disability.

USC continues to endorse data-informed strategies and direct care. Through its Street Medicine initiative, USC provides immediate medical attention to individuals facing unsheltered homelessness — reaching patients in their environments, whether in encampments, beneath bridges, or on sidewalks. The program integrates clinical care, social services, and research to tackle the intricate health requirements of the unhoused, while concurrently educating future health care professionals in empathetic, community-focused care.

“Tackling the homeless crisis must encompass housing; however, we cannot delay addressing the healthcare needs that contribute to or sustain homelessness while waiting for housing to be established,” Feldman stated.

“With individuals’ physical and mental health enhanced, they are more inclined to transition into housing and sustain their accommodation. Merging these supports is essential to resolving the homelessness crisis.”

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For additional details, consult the complete report.