States that recorded the biggest increase in homelessness last year
States that recorded the biggest increase in homelessness last year
The number of people who experienced homelessness on a single night in 2024 was the highest ever recorded, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress. All told, 771,480 people reported experiencing homelessness, an increase of 18% from 2023. The spike significantly impacted families—between 2023 and 2024, 39% more people in families with children experienced homelessness, and 33% more children experienced homelessness.
However, older adults also suffer disproportionately from America's homelessness crisis. The HUD report shows that one of every five unhoused individuals were above the age of 55, and among those adults, 46% were living unsheltered in areas not intended for human habitation.
As dire as these numbers are, they could soon worsen. On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court made its biggest ruling related to homelessness in more than 50 years, allowing cities to ban people from sleeping and camping in public spaces. Then, in January 2025, shortly after President Donald Trump's inauguration, the Office of Management and Budget froze $3.6 billion in homelessness funding. While a federal judge soon ordered the freeze lifted, the money still has yet to reach many homeless service providers.
These power plays are part of a larger effort to end long-held housing-first policies, in which those experiencing homelessness are provided with stable shelter before issues like substance abuse or mental health can be addressed. Though the efficacy of housing-first has been demonstrated multiple times over the past decades and has even been linked to a 15% nationwide decline in homelessness between 2010 and 2018, conservative lawmakers and think tanks have increasingly spoken out against housing-first.
As housing-first continues to face challenges from the current administration, the data already shows a sizable cause for concern when it comes to homelessness. Forty-three states and the District of Columbia reported an increase in their homeless populations between 2023 and 2024, and the root causes of homelessness persist. No state has an appropriate supply of affordable housing available for the lowest-income renters—the estimated national deficit is 7.1 million homes.
This discrepancy has been proven to be especially serious in certain states, particularly those on the West Coast and in the South. To better understand what's behind the increase in homelessness in these states, Stacker examined data from HUD's annual Homeless Assessment Report and tracked how homelessness rates changed from 2023 to 2024, the latest data available. States that recorded the highest increase in sheltered homelessness above were ranked in order of smallest to largest percentage increase.
How the homeless population has changed since 2007
The onset of the pandemic had mixed effects on rates of homelessness in the U.S. Increased economic instability and the risk of infection disproportionately impacted unhoused people, yet COVID-19 relief funding enabled the expansion of certain services, which allowed better assistance to the most vulnerable populations.
As NPR reports, however, these numbers shifted in 2023 when that funding ran out, inflation spiked, and so did rent prices, which have historically had a direct correlation to homelessness rates.
#13. Oklahoma
-Increase of people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024: 17.6%
-Estimated number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024: 5,467
Efforts to move people experiencing homelessness from encampments into permanent housing have been taking place over the past few years in Oklahoma's largest cities. In Oklahoma City, for instance, nonprofit organizations have been working to house 1,800 unhoused people. But for unhoused Oklahomans in rural parts of the state, getting connected to services or accessing shelters can be much more difficult—some towns have only daytime shelters, while others have no shelters at all.
In April 2024, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law a measure criminalizing sleeping on the streets. The measure specifies that a citation is unlikely "unless the person refuses any assistance offered to them by the arresting officer" in the form of transportation to a shelter.
#12. North Carolina
-Increase of people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024: 19.2%
-Estimated number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024: 11,626
North Carolina's total rate of homelessness grew relatively slowly between 2023 and 2024, but the amount of unhoused individuals without shelter has far outpaced much of the U.S. According to the 2024 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, nearly 39% of people experiencing homelessness in 2024 were unsheltered.
North Carolina homeless advocates point to housing unaffordability as a major cause for this increase. Notably, the state also has large rural areas that lack the infrastructure to assist unhoused individuals, who in turn flock to cities unprepared to help such a large influx of people. However, some of those cities—such as Raleigh, Greensboro, and Asheville—have begun to invest in affordable housing projects to help mitigate homelessness across North Carolina.
#11. Idaho
-Increase of people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024: 19.7%
-Estimated number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024: 2,750
One of the primary culprits behind the rise of homelessness in Idaho over the past years is the increase in cost of living, combined with stagnant wages. The Idaho Press reported that a lack of affordable housing in Treasure Valley, home to the Boise metro area, has contributed to more than 300 families experiencing homelessness for the first time in 2023. Rents have increased by roughly 40% since 2019, but wages have not kept pace.
As of 2024, Idaho is short 24,800 rental homes that are affordable and available to extremely low-income renters, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Beyond the lack of affordable housing, the leading cause of family homelessness in the state is domestic violence, according to CATCH, an Idaho-based housing-first nonprofit.
#10. New Mexico
-Increase of people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024: 20.5%
-Estimated number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024: 4,631
Extreme heat in New Mexico can create dangerous conditions for unsheltered people experiencing homelessness in the warm months. Without access to reliable cooling sources or air-conditioned spaces, people living in tent encampments can face temperatures of over 140 degrees inside their tents, thanks to the greenhouse effect.
In 2023, a judge ruled that the city of Albuquerque cannot arrest or intimidate people experiencing homelessness, nor can law enforcement confiscate or destroy the property of unhoused people. The ruling came after the ACLU and other legal organizations sued the city on behalf of individuals who had had their belongings seized without notification.
#9. New Jersey
-Increase of people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024: 24.3%
-Estimated number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024: 12,762
According to housing advocates, homelessness in New Jersey has been on the rise for the last few years due to skyrocketing housing and rent prices, an affordable housing shortage, and the end of the COVID-era eviction moratorium.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition reported in 2024 that New Jersey was one of the most expensive states for renters. The state has a shortage of more than 205,000 affordable rental units compared to the number of extremely low-income renter households.
One method being used to combat homelessness in the state is a housing-first approach, which places unhoused people into homes and provides them with resources including medical care, budgeting guidance, food, and more. This approach has proven more effective than others at helping unhoused people with high needs stay housed, according to Emmy Tiderington, a Rutgers University School of Social Work professor.
#8. West Virginia
-Increase of people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024: 25.6%
-Estimated number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024: 1,779
In July 2024, the West Virginia Department of Human Services and the Bureau for Behavioral Health conducted the state's first in-depth study on homelessness. The results showed mental illness and substance use disorders as two of the leading causes of homelessness in the Mountain State, though a lack of affordable housing and employment opportunities has also contributed. As of December 2024, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts West Virginia's unemployment rate at 4.2%, on the higher end among the 50 states.
The Department of Human Services report draws attention to a dire need for state and federal funding to resolve the homelessness crisis, but lawmakers have done little thus far to acknowledge that need. In March 2025, the House of Delegates passed a bill that, if signed into law by the state Senate, would ban unauthorized camping and storage on public lands, targeting homeless encampments across the state.
#7. Colorado
-Increase of people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024: 29.6%
-Estimated number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024: 18,715
In 2023, metropolitan Denver ranked #5 among major cities in terms of the largest number of people experiencing homelessness. The rising cost of living in Denver and other parts of the state, coupled with few available homes, have contributed to the crisis.
Denver has piloted some programs meant to mitigate the problem, including the Supportive Housing Social Impact Bond Initiative, a housing-first program that provides people experiencing homelessness with resources like housing, mental health and medical services, and employment assistance. In 2023, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston began relocating 1,000 people from encampment sites in the city directly to housing and he plans to do the same in 2024.
#6. Rhode Island
-Increase of people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024: 34.9%
-Estimated number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024: 2,442
Between 2020 and 2024, rates of homelessness doubled in the tiny state of Rhode Island. Like its neighbors in New England, Rhode Island suffers from a lack of affordable housing. An October 2024 report from the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council estimates that more than 24,000 income-restricted housing units must be constructed to resolve the state's affordability gap.
In the meantime, shelter bed availability has run low in cities like Providence, which has become a focal point in a series of complaints against Governor Daniel McKee and his administration. While a long-awaited pallet shelter opened in Providence in February 2025, homeless advocates say that much more must be done to aid the state's rapidly growing unhoused population.
#5. Alabama
-Increase of people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024: 39.3%
-Estimated number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024: 4,601
Overall, Alabama has the fifth lowest cost of living in the U.S., according to data from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. But stagnating wages and a lack of employment opportunities has led to a rise in homelessness across Alabama, with nine out of every 10,000 people becoming unhoused at some point in 2024. Even more concerningly, almost 59% of Alabama's homeless population is experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
In recent years, Alabama lawmakers have distributed millions of dollars in funding to provide mental health support, rental assistance, and transitional housing. The city of Birmingham has been especially proactive—in February 2025, Birmingham officials announced that $2.7 million would be provided to create pallet shelters for unhoused individuals.
#4. New York
-Increase of people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024: 53.1%
-Estimated number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024: 158,019
Between a lack of affordable housing and a skyrocketing cost of living in both New York City and the rest of the state, New York saw one of the biggest jumps in homelessness in 2023. This does not account for the influx of roughly 90,000 migrants and asylum-seekers who arrived in New York City between 2022 and 2023.
In May 2023, the city passed a "Homeless Bill of Rights," which established people's right to sleep on the streets, along with several other fundamental rights and protections. Though the city has had a "right to shelter" mandate since the '80s, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is challenging it. Adams has also drawn criticism from housing advocates for sending sweeps of encampments and the subway and for implementing a policy that empowers law enforcement to involuntarily hospitalize unhoused people deemed to be in a "psychiatric crisis."
#3. Massachusetts
-Increase of people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024: 53.4%
-Estimated number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024: 29,360
Prior to this year, Massachusetts was the only state with a "right to shelter" law that allowed for unhoused families and pregnant people to stay in shelters indefinitely. In May 2024, Gov. Maura Healey signed a new measure into law that limits stays in emergency shelters to nine months, with certain exceptions for people in more precarious positions.
The move came after the number of families staying in state shelters between March 2023 and April 2024 jumped by around 3,500, creating a crowded situation that Healey called "unsustainable." Massachusetts is one of the most expensive states to live in, and while minimum-wage workers earn an average of $780 a month, the average one-bedroom rental unit at fair market rent costs $1,772 per month, making it nearly impossible for low-wage earners to find housing they can afford.
#2. Hawaii
-Increase of people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024: 87%
-Estimated number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024: 11,637
Though Hawaii is widely viewed as a tropical paradise, those sandy beaches and idyllic sunsets come with a famously steep cost of living. According to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, the state ranks #1 in the U.S. for cost of living, with exceptionally high price tags on housing and utilities.
In turn, these costs have driven up rates of homelessness, which is especially widespread on the island of Oahu and among Native Hawaiians. The devastating Maui wildfires of 2023 also contributed to the meteoric increase in Hawaii's homeless population, as more than 5,000 people entered temporary emergency shelters.
To address the homeless crisis in Hawaii, nonprofit HomeAid Hawaii teamed up with state officials to create a tiny home village known as a kauhale. Meanwhile, Hawaii homelessness coordinator John Mizuno announced in January 2025 that he successfully reunited more than 130 unhoused individuals with their families on the mainland in the past year.
#1. Illinois
-Increase of people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024: 116.2%
-Estimated number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024: 25,832
In Chicago alone, around 68,440 people experienced homelessness in 2023, a more than 2,800-person increase from the previous year, according to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. In an effort to decrease homelessness in the city, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson proposed a ballot initiative that would impose a high-end real estate transfer tax to fund homelessness services for $100 million per year, but the measure failed in the March 2024 referendum.
A study published in May 2024 by the University of Illinois Chicago found that Black Illinois residents are eight times more likely to experience homelessness at some point in their lives than white Illinoisans. These findings prompted Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to increase the state's budget for fighting homelessness by $50 million to implement a plan targeting the structural inequalities that contribute to homelessness.
