The United States recorded its highest homelessness figure since the federal annual count began in 2007, according to a report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development summarized by BBC News. Officials said more than 770,000 people were in shelters, temporary accommodation or without shelter when the January 2024 survey was taken.

The scale of the increase was stark. The BBC reported that homelessness rose by more than 18% over the previous year, after a 12% increase the year before. That means the country has now seen back-to-back jumps in the number of people counted as homeless, even as local responses have produced improvements in some places.

Housing costs were one driver identified by officials. Natural disasters and a spike in migration to large cities were also cited. The report did not treat any single factor as sufficient on its own; instead, it described a combination of pressures that were pushing vulnerable people into shelters or onto the streets.

The numbers are large, but the report also emphasized that they are not complete. The count is understood to be an undercount because it does not include people temporarily staying with family or friends. It is also a snapshot from nearly a year earlier, taken in January 2024, so it does not capture later shifts in rents or border conditions.

Even so, the data reveal important patterns. Family homelessness rose 39% from the year before. In 13 places affected by migration, family homelessness more than doubled. In more than 370 other local areas that did not report being affected by migration, family homelessness rose less than 8% on average. Those differences suggest the homelessness crisis was not uniform across the country and that local conditions mattered.

Children were especially affected. The BBC said nearly 150,000 children under 18 were homeless on the night of the survey, the largest increase among age groups. The report also showed a 6% rise among people aged 65 or older, indicating that the problem stretched from children to older adults.

There were some signs of progress inside the broader deterioration. Homelessness among military veterans fell 8%, continuing a long decline. Los Angeles, one of the country’s most expensive housing markets, saw a 5% drop in its homeless population, the first decline in seven years. Dallas and Chester County, near Philadelphia, also recorded decreases over multi-year periods.

Those local gains do not erase the national record. But they do show that targeted policy can make a difference, even when broader market and migration pressures are moving in the opposite direction. The report also noted that some cities were closing migrant shelters and that border crossings had fallen sharply since the count was taken, which may affect later surveys.

For now, the federal tally stands as a warning about the interaction of housing costs, disaster recovery and migration flows. It is both a record and a reminder that the burden is being felt unevenly across age groups and cities.

Claim-to-source map

  • The record count, 18% annual increase, January 2024 survey timing and federal count start date are supported by the BBC report.
  • Drivers including housing costs, natural disasters and migration, plus the family and age-group breakdowns, are also from the BBC report.
  • Local declines in Los Angeles, Dallas and Chester County and the veteran homelessness decline are supported by the same source.