The number of people living on the streets or in their vehicles in the city of Los Angeles rose in the latest homeless count, ending a two-year run of declining numbers prior to this year’s count and dealing a blow to L.A. Mayor Karen Bass as she seeks reelection.
Related: Homelessness spikes in LA city, rises slightly in county, according to latest count
The nation’s second most populous city saw its unsheltered homeless population rise 7.9%, up to an estimated 29,115 people, while its overall homeless population – which includes people living in shelters or other temporary housing – went up 3.4%, from about 43,699 to 45,194 people, year-over-year, according to the latest annual count by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, released Friday, July 24.
In comparison, the number of homeless people overall in L.A. County and 85 of its cities rose by 1.2% while its unsheltered homeless population increased 3.3%.
Although LAHSA officials said the 3.4% overall increase isn’t statistically significant, Amanda Landrian Gonzalez, a public health researcher for USC who helped with the statistical analysis of the count data for the agency, cited that the 7.9% increase in unsheltered homelessness as meaningful.
Bass, who has made reducing homelessness a central pillar of her administration, blamed the setback on the federal and state government as well as a “lack of adequate services” by the county.
“For two years straight, we drove down homelessness by historic margins — but as expected, last year our efforts ultimately couldn’t keep up with policies and funding cuts at the federal and state levels that pushed more people onto the streets,” Bass said in a statement.
She said the Trump administration drove up the cost of gas, groceries and rent, “pushing more families to the edge” while also slashing critical safety net funding. The mayor also blamed year’s state funding cuts to California’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program, which she said resulted in a loss of $70 million to the city.
Despite all this, the mayor said, the city has seen an 11% reduction in homelessness since 2023.
Since she became mayor in December 2022, according to Bass, the city has placed tens of thousands of people facing homelessness into interim housing, brought 6,000 people off the streets through her signature Inside Safe program, in addition to housing over 1,000 homeless veterans.
When LAHSA released its homeless count numbers last year, the mayor’s office touted the news that homelessness in the city had fallen 17.5% since Bass took office — the largest two-year decline since the annual count began in 2005.
But the reversal in progress this year comes amid ongoing scrutiny of Bass’ performance as mayor, following criticisms of her handling of the Palisades wildfires in January 2025.
And not everyone was willing to give the mayor a pass following this year’s increase.
L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is running against Bass in November’s mayoral election and who chairs the council’s housing and homelessness committee, said this year’s homeless count results are “disappointing, but not surprising.”
“Leadership at City Hall has not shown the willingness to shift toward an approach that actually moves people into permanent housing. And these results make clear that the mayor’s approach is not working well enough,” Raman said in a statement.
“The results in my district tell a different story – a significant decrease in the number of people living on our streets,” she added. “Those results came from sustained, hands-on work, and I am confident we can bring that approach – and those results – citywide.”
Last year, before jumping into the mayoral race, Raman credited Bass’ Inside Safe program, as well as expanded shelter capacity and new housing, for helping to reduce homelessness in the city.
Housing and homeless advocates, meanwhile, renewed their calls on Friday for more investment in affordable housing and efforts to prevent homelessness.
“The scale of homelessness in Los Angeles is heartbreaking. These statistics reflect human beings — real people who are struggling. They are our neighbors and our coworkers, our families and our friends. Every person counted should have a safe place to call home,” said Adam Murray, CEO of Inner City Law Center, a nonprofit law firm in L.A.’s Skid Row, which has the city’s largest homeless population.
Inner City Law Center’s clientele includes low-income tenants and people experiencing homelessness.
Murray called the homeless count numbers “a damning indictment of us all” and said it should serve as a call to action.