California reports one of largest drops in homelessness in past year, Hud reports

A homeless encampment in Los Angeles, California, on 13 August 2025. Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen A homeless encampment in Los Angeles, California, on 13 August 2025. Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images California reports one of largest drops in homelessness in past year, Hud reports New data suggests success in Gavin Newsom’s crackdown, as Illinois, Hawaii and Florida also report notable decreases California reported one of the largest decreases in homelessness over the past year, according to a new report from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (Hud). The Golden state recorded a total unhoused population of 181,934 in 2025 – an almost 3% decrease since the year prior, placing it among the five states with the largest decreases from 2024. However, more significant drops were recorded in Illinois (44%), Hawaii (41%), Florida (11%) and New York (8%). The new data signals at least some success on the part of Gavin Newsom , the California governor who has intensified his crackdown on homelessness over the past year. In May 2025 he announced a new model ordinance for cities and counties to address “persistent” homeless encampments, as well as $3.3bn in voter-approved funding to increase housing and drug treatment programs. California, along with New York, had the largest population of unsheltered people recorded in 2025. Homelessness has been a key issue in this year’s gubernatorial race , as well as in the Los Angeles mayoral race . LA county reports first drop in deaths of unhoused people in a decade Read more The data also showed that the national homeless population decreased for the first time since 2016, coming down 3% from 2024 . The Trump administration attempted to downplay the small one-year decrease, instead highlighting the fact that homelessness has increased 27% since 2013. “The data is clear that the status quo of ‘housing first’ has failed to meaningfully reduce homelessness, resulting in crisis levels of people living on the streets,” Scott Turner, the Hud secretary, said in a press release . “HUD is restoring its programs to advance recovery and self-sufficiency and to ensure that taxpayer-funded benefits serve American families.” As the administration attempted to downplay the drop in homelessness, it also sought to connect the success to its immigration policies, stating that the 2025 decrease was “attributable to decreases in Sanctuary Cities”. The data comes from the federally mandated homeless point-in-time count, which tallies people sleeping in shelters and outside on a given day. On a single night in January 2025, there were 745,652 homeless persons in the United States. While anti-homelessness advocates cited the decrease in homelessness as a “relief”, they also pointed out that the Trump administration’s policies may erode the progress that has been made. “So much of the progress reflected in the 2025 PIT Count is due to targeted housing and service resour