Three States Account for Two-Thirds of the Significant Increase in Nationwide Homelessness

Comparison of Nationwide 2024 Point-in-Time Homeless Count to the
2023 Point-in-Time Homeless Count Reveals an Increase of More Than
118,000 Persons Representing a Surge of Approximately 18%

Three States Account for Two-Thirds of the Increase

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s official Point-in-Time (PIT) homeless counts include all states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.

The 2024 PIT homeless count was 771,480 adults and children and the 2023 PIT homeless count was 653,104 representing an increase of 118,376 persons or 18.1%.

The following three states had a combined increase of 78,923 adults and children, which represents two-thirds (66.7%) of the nationwide increase of 118,376 persons when their 2024 PIT homeless counts are compared to their 2023 PIT homeless counts: New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts.

As noted in the table below,

• New York had an increase of 54,819 adults and children or 53.1%;
• Illinois had an increase of 13,885 adults and children or 116%; and
• Massachusetts had an increase of 10,219 adults and children or 53,4%.

The Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) is a HUD report prepared for the U.S. Congress that provides nationwide estimates of homelessness at the national, state, and Continuum of Care levels based on data from annual Point-in-Time counts of sheltered and unsheltered adults and children experiencing homelessness on a single night.

The 2024 AHAR: Part 1 – PIT Estimates of Homelessness in the U.S. notes the following about Understanding Changes in the Number of People Experiencing Homelessness in New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts, which includes increased evictions, lack of affordable housing, increased rents, a rollback of pandemic-related financial supports, and a significant influx of asylum seekers.

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New York is composed of 24 CoCs. Twelve (50%) of the CoCs are suburban, 11 (46%) are rural, and one CoC is a major city (New York City). Between 2023 and 2024, New York saw a 53 percent increase in homelessness. Several CoCs in the state again pointed to increased evictions as cities worked through backlogs in evictions that built up during the eviction moratorium, lack of affordable housing, and increased rents as key drivers to this increase, as well as loss of rapid re-housing supported by ESG-CV and other COVID-related funding. These factors led to an increase in shelter stays as people searched for affordable housing. Other drivers that increased the total homelessness count in New York were increased availability of warming shelters in some locations and increased or improved PIT count training. Finally, one CoC, New York City, noted that it continued to experience a significant influx of asylum seekers in 2024. The CoC noted that these households, who were in emergency shelters, accounted for almost 88 percent of the increase in sheltered homelessness in New York City.

Illinois has 19 CoCs, one major city (Chicago), three other largely urban CoCs, ten suburban CoCs, and five largely rural CoCs. Between 2023 and 2024, Illinois had a 116 percent increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness (13,885 more people). Ninety-one percent of this increase was in Chicago. The Chicago CoC reported that an influx of new arrivals accounted for most of this observed increase. According to the CoC, new arrivals (which included migrant and asylum-seeking families, including those bused or flown to Chicago from other states) accounted for more than 13,600 people in emergency shelters in 2024. While the CoC indicated that new arrivals accounted for most of Chicago’s increase in estimated homelessness, the same cannot be said for the 16 other CoCs in Illinois that experienced increases. Many attributed their rises to increased shelter capacity, extreme cold that brought people into shelter, a higher cost of living combined with a rollback of pandemic-related financial supports, and a lack of affordable housing.

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Massachusetts is composed of 11 CoCs. It has one major city (Boston) and one other largely urban CoC (Cambridge); the remaining nine CoCs are largely suburban. Three of every four people experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts (76%) were doing so in families with children, the highest share in the country. Between 2023 and 2024, Massachusetts had a 74 percent increase in family homelessness (9,512 more people). Many of these CoCs attributed this increase to the state’s right to shelter law and its application to hundreds of recently arrived migrant families, refugees, and asylum-seekers who did not yet have living arrangements coming to the state. In August 2023, the Governor of Massachusetts declared a state of emergency regarding newly arriving migrant families, unlocking additional shelter beds and other resources to help place these families in emergency shelters. Other factors contributing to the increase related to overall expanded shelter capacity, a high cost of living, inflation, increases in rents, and a lack of affordable housing.

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. . . states that had the highest share of families with children experiencing homelessness among all people experiencing homelessness were Massachusetts (76%), New York (60%), and Illinois (52%).

Table 1: 2024 PIT Count Comparison to 2023 PIT Count for All States, Territories, Puerto Rico and District of Columbia