In January 2024 at least 187,084 people were experiencing homelessness in California, according to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 0.48% of California's population, one of the highest per capita rates in the nation.
California has the highest percentage of unsheltered homeless people among all U.S. states, with two-thirds of its homeless population sleeping on the streets, in encampments, or in their cars. Nearly one in four homeless people in the U.S., and 45% of unsheltered homeless people, live in California. Even those who are sheltered are so insecurely: 90% of homeless adults in California spent at least one night without shelter in a six-month period.
5% of California schoolchildren are homeless (this includes students who are "temporarily doubled-up" at another family's home).2024–25 Homeless Student Enrollment by Dwelling Type California Dept. of Education "Data Quest" State Report
A statewide housing shortage drives the homelessness crisis. A 2022 study found that differences in per capita homelessness rates across the United States are not due to differing rates of mental illness, drug addiction, or poverty, but to differences in the cost of housing. West Coast cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego have homelessness rates five times as high as areas with much lower housing costs like Arkansas, West Virginia, and Detroit, even though the latter locations have high burdens of opioid addiction and poverty. California has the second lowest number of housing units per capita, and an estimated shortage of one million homes that are affordable to the lowest income renters. Another 2022 study found that moderate decreases in rents would significantly reduce homelessness. A 2023 study published by the University of California, San Francisco also found that the high cost of housing was the greatest obstacle to reducing homelessness.
From 2007 to 2023, California's homeless population grew more than any other state's. While the national homeless population decreased by 18% between 2010 and 2020, California's increased by 31%. This trend continued from 2020 to 2022, when California's homeless population grew by 6% while the rest of the country saw an increase of less than 0.5%. A 2021 survey revealed that 19% of Californians reported that they or someone close to them had experienced homelessness in the previous five years.
36% of homeless people in California are categorized as "chronically homeless"—which means "they have a long-standing disability that significantly impedes their ability to live independently and have been unhoused for a consecutive year or on at least four occasions within a three-year period." The remaining 64% are categorized as "experiencing short-term homelessness" though many may have been homeless for similar durations without meeting the disability criterion for chronic homelessness.
80% of homeless people in California are adults not with children; 40% of those are aged 50 and older. 14% are families with children. 7% are unaccompanied young people (defined as being under age 25). Homelessness in California disproportionately affects African Americans, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders. One in four homeless people who used a homeless service provider were black, despite making up only 5% of California's population.
Health aspects
From 2019 to 2020, homeless people were hospitalized in California 237,541 times and made 658,644 emergency department visits. This represents about 3% of hospital encounters in California hospitals.
Among homeless adults in California, 45% describe their health as "poor or fair," and 60% report having a chronic disease.
In March 2019 The Atlantic reported on outbreaks of tuberculosis and typhus in homeless shelters throughout California. These outbreaks have been described as a "public-health crisis" and a "disaster" by public health officials who are concerned they might spread into the general population.
Street medicine is defined as "health and social services developed specifically to address the unique needs and circumstances of the unsheltered homeless, delivered directly to them in their own environment." Street medicine programs deliver health services directly to unsheltered people in their environments. These services include chronic condition diagnosis, disease management, and preventive medicine. there were at least 25 street medicine programs operating in California. While the average program serves 615 patients and conducts 2,352 patient visits annually, most programs operate at a smaller scale, serving fewer than 500 patients and conducting fewer than 500 visits.
A representative survey found that 82% of homeless adults had experienced a mental health condition at some point, 66% currently experience symptoms of mental illness, and 27% had required mental health hospitalization.
The survey revealed that 65% had used illegal drugs regularly at some point, and 62% had experienced periods of heavy drinking. While 57% had received treatment for substance use disorder, current substance use remains significant: 31% use methamphetamines, and 16% report alcohol abuse. 20% had required medical attention for an overdose. 24% saw their substance use as a problem. Among those using drugs or alcohol regularly, 20% want treatment but cannot access it.
Possible causes Insufficient housing
In California, housing costs are exceptionally high and the supply of affordable housing is low. California ranks 49th among U.S. states in housing units per capita. California had only 24 available homes that were considered affordable for every 100 lowest-income renter households. This creates a deficit of about one million affordable homes.
The 2022 book Homelessness is a Housing Problem looks at per capita homelessness rates across the country and what factors influence the rates. It concludes that high rates of homelessness are caused by shortages of affordable housing, not by mental illness, drug addiction, or poverty. While mental illness, drug addiction, and poverty exist nationwide, high homelessness rates correlate specifically with housing shortages and high housing costs. For example, Arkansas and West Virginia have high rates of opioid addiction but low homelessness rates due to affordable housing. Similarly, Detroit, despite significant poverty, has a homelessness rate only one-fifth that of major West Coast cities. Large cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco attribute increases in the number of people experiencing homelessness to the housing shortage.
Where housing is expensive, it is more difficult for potentially-homeless people to find their own housing, and it is also less likely that their friends or family will have spare bedrooms or will otherwise have extra space to accommodate them.
A 2002 study found "the incidence of homelessness [in California] varies inversely with housing vacancy rates and positively with the market rent for just-standard housing" and concluded that "moderate increases in housing vacancy rates and moderate decreases in market rents are sufficient to generate substantial declines in homelessness."
In San Diego, according to a 2023 report, aggressive evictions and rent increases of some 43–64% on vacant properties have contributed to the problem.
A 2024 report from the California Housing Partnership and San Diego Housing Federation found that San Diego County had a shortage of more than 134,500 homes for low-income renters.
Deinstitutionalization The United States pursued a policy of deinstitutionalization from the 1960s through the 1980s, closing state mental hospitals in favor of community-based psychiatric facilities. However, California (and other states) were unable to effectively fill the gap, providing fewer inpatient beds than needed to support individuals experiencing mental health crises. From 1955 to 2016, the number of public psychiatric hospitals fell from 558,239 to 37,209. As of 2022, California had an rough deficit of 7,730 fewer acute impatient, sub-acute impatient, and community residential beds than needed. This lack leads to mentally ill patients becoming more prevalent in other facilities, such as the ER, community-based organizations, jails, and prisons, or on the streets. A survey of homeless individuals in California found that 82% of participants had experienced a period of having a severe mental health condition and 27% had been hospitalized. A study of homeless individuals also found that the experience and stresses of being unsheltered exacerbated mental health conditions and symptoms, such as depression, hallucinations, anxiety, and memory issues.
Criminal justice system As mental hospitals closed, the prison system expanded, shifting many people with serious mental illness from hospitals to jails and prisons. By 2012 there were about ten times as many mentally ill people incarcerated in the United States as there were in hospitals.
More than 75% of homeless adults in California report having been jailed or imprisoned. Recent California reforms meant to reduce mass incarceration have released many mentally ill prisoners, who face particular challenges in finding housing due to their mental health needs, incarceration-related trauma, and the stigma of criminal records.
A survey of homeless adults in California found that 19% had become homeless directly from an institutional setting such as a jail or prison. Most reported having received no sort of transitional services to prevent homelessness.
Service providers and individuals experiencing homelessness both recognize a cycle of homelessness and incarceration:
Over-enforcement and criminalization Warrants, citations, and arrests Longer periods in jail and prison Increased obstacles and restrictions on release
This has been attributed to structural barriers that can make accessing resources and navigating the systems difficult as well as internal barriers such as stigma or discrimination. In California, criminalization of homelessness has increased. Homeless people come in contact with law enforcement at higher rates and receive more citations and arrests for survival behaviors and activities (e.g. camping outside or soliciting help).
See below for how policy makers have criminalized homelessness
Climate California's mild climate influences how poorer people make housing decisions. In regions with harsh winters, people prioritize maintaining housing to avoid dangerous weather exposure. However, in California's milder climate people with high housing costs may choose to dedicate limited funds to other needs, even if this increases their risk of homelessness. California's areas with colder winter temperatures have lower homelessness rates.
It does not seem to be the case that many homeless people migrate to California from elsewhere. A survey found that 90% of homeless adults in California became homeless while already living in the state. Furthermore, 75% remain in the same county where they last had housing.
Subgroups Youth Under the federal McKinney-Vento Act, schools are required to count their homeless students throughout the school year to ensure they receive services. Homeless students also have the right to stay enrolled in their original school even if they move.
Of all unaccompanied homeless young people (under the age of 25 not accompanied by parents or guardians) in the United States, 24% live in California. They represent about 5% of the homeless people in California. 60% of them are unsheltered.
Young people experience unaccompanied homelessness through various circumstances. Some are forced from their homes by parents who reject their gender identity or sexual orientation, react negatively to their pregnancy, or perpetrate abuse. Others leave their homes to escape abuse, neglect, conflict, or poverty.