Imagine a single night where over half a million of our neighbors—653,104 people, a shocking 12% jump from just one year prior—are without a home, a staggering reality that exposes a deepening crisis of housing insecurity in America.
Key Takeaways
- On a single night in January 2023, 653,104 people were experiencing homelessness in the United States, a 12.1 percent increase from 2022.
- Approximately 18 out of every 10,000 people in the U.S. experienced homelessness on that single night in 2023.
- The homeless population in 2023 included 240,358 sheltered individuals and 412,746 unsheltered individuals.
- Black people represented 32% of the homeless population in 2023 despite being 13% of the U.S. population.
- Hispanic/Latino individuals comprised 31% of homeless people in 2023, up from previous years.
- Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander people were 1.5% of homeless but 0.2% of general population.
- In 2023, 28% of the U.S. population lived in housing-cost-burdened households spending over 30% of income on housing.
- Extremely low-income renters face a shortage of 7.1 million affordable rental homes in 2023.
- No state or county had enough affordable homes for the lowest income renters in 2023.
- Eviction filings reached 3.6 million in 2023 across tracked U.S. cities.
- From 2022 to 2023, eviction filings increased by 10% nationally.
- Atlanta had over 40,000 eviction filings in 2023, highest per capita.
- Housing insecure adults have 40% higher mortality rates than housed peers.
- Homeless individuals die 30 years earlier on average than general population.
- Eviction associated with 15% increase in mental health hospitalizations.
Homelessness rose sharply nationwide last year amid a severe housing affordability crisis.
Affordability
- In 2023, 28% of the U.S. population lived in housing-cost-burdened households spending over 30% of income on housing.
- Extremely low-income renters face a shortage of 7.1 million affordable rental homes in 2023.
- No state or county had enough affordable homes for the lowest income renters in 2023.
- Renters need to earn $28.24 per hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment at HUD Fair Market Rent.
- For a one-bedroom, renters need $23.30 hourly wage nationally in 2023.
- Minimum wage of $7.25 per hour covers only 23% of a two-bedroom FMR nationally.
- In California, two-bedroom rent requires $43.22 hourly wage, highest in nation.
- 16.8 million extremely low-income renter households were severely cost-burdened in 2023.
- Only 34 affordable rental homes existed per 100 extremely low-income renter households.
- From 2022 to 2023, the hourly wage needed for two-bedroom rose 10% nationally.
- In New York, two-bedroom affordability requires $49.20 per hour in 2023.
- 74% of extremely low-income renters were severely cost-burdened in 2023.
- Median renter household income was $51,460, while FMR for two-bedroom was $1,670 monthly.
- In Hawaii, renters need $55.72 hourly for modest two-bedroom due to high costs.
- West Coast metros had the highest rent burdens, with 50-60% of income needed.
- 22 million low-income households lacked affordable housing in 2023.
- Households spending over 50% of income on housing numbered 11.2 million in 2021.
- Black and Hispanic households twice as likely to be cost-burdened as white households.
- 42% of renter households were cost-burdened in 2021 Census data.
- In 2023, average rent for two-bedroom reached $1,899, up from prior years.
- Rent growth outpaced wages by 20% since 2019 in many markets.
- 48% of households in poverty were severely housing cost-burdened.
- In 2022, 14 million renter households paid more than 50% of income on rent.
Affordability Interpretation
These statistics portray an American housing market that has become a cruel and elaborate joke on the working class, where the punchline is eviction, the rent is due, and the minimum wage is still stuck in 2009.
Demographics
- Black people represented 32% of the homeless population in 2023 despite being 13% of the U.S. population.
- Hispanic/Latino individuals comprised 31% of homeless people in 2023, up from previous years.
- Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander people were 1.5% of homeless but 0.2% of general population.
- Women made up 39% of the homeless population in 2023 PIT counts.
- Over 50% of homeless adults reported serious mental illness in 2023.
- 35% of homeless adults had chronic substance use issues in 2023.
- Black adults were 31.6% of the homeless adult population in 2023.
- Among unaccompanied youth, 33.7% were Black in 2023.
- LGBTQ+ youth made up an estimated 30-40% of unaccompanied homeless youth.
- In 2023, 7.4% of homeless people were veterans, higher than general population rate.
- Children under 18 comprised 12% of the homeless population in 2023.
- In family households, 75% were headed by single women in 2023.
- Native Americans were 2.9% of homeless but 1.3% of U.S. population in 2023.
- In 2022, Black people experienced homelessness at a rate 6 times higher than white people.
- Hispanic people were overrepresented in homelessness by a factor of 2.5 in 2023.
- Seniors aged 55+ made up 38% of the homeless population in 2023.
- Domestic violence was a factor for 21% of homeless women.
- In 2023, 40% of homeless individuals had a serious mental illness diagnosis.
- Substance abuse affected 38% of homeless adults reporting long-term issues in 2023.
- Youth aged 18-24 were 7% of homeless adults in 2023 PIT.
- In unsheltered populations, men were 70% in 2023.
- Asian Americans were 1.2% of homeless in 2023, proportional to population.
- White non-Hispanic people were 42% of homeless in 2023.
- In 2023, 4% of homeless were limited English proficient.
- Single women with children headed 32% of family homeless households.
Demographics Interpretation
These statistics reveal a devastating, intersectional truth: systemic failures—from racism to sexism to inadequate healthcare—are not just creating homelessness, but are efficiently sorting society's most vulnerable into predictable categories of despair.
Evictions
- Eviction filings reached 3.6 million in 2023 across tracked U.S. cities.
- From 2022 to 2023, eviction filings increased by 10% nationally.
- Atlanta had over 40,000 eviction filings in 2023, highest per capita.
- In 2023, 1 in 76 renter households faced eviction filing.
- Black renters were 70% more likely to be evicted than white renters.
- Evictions displaced 900,000 children annually pre-pandemic.
- From 2000 to 2023, eviction rates rose 50% in most large cities.
- In 2023, Philadelphia saw 25,000 eviction cases filed.
- Women-led households faced eviction rates 30% higher than others.
- Post-moratorium, evictions surged 300% in some southern cities in 2023.
- Cleveland had the highest eviction rate at 1 in 27 renters in 2023.
- 2.4 million eviction filings occurred in 2022, baseline for 2023 increases.
- Fairfax County, VA, filed 1 in 50 renter evictions in 2023.
- Eviction judgments led to 1 million physical removals annually.
- In Chicago, 2023 evictions hit 40,000, up 20% from 2022.
- Southern cities like Memphis had eviction rates over 10% of renters.
- New eviction filings in 2023 equaled pre-pandemic levels by mid-year.
- Los Angeles County filed 50,000 evictions in 2023 despite protections.
- Rural eviction rates grew 20% faster than urban from 2010-2023.
- In 2023, 80% of evictions were for nonpayment of rent.
- Homelessness risk doubles after an eviction filing.
- Foreclosure starts totaled 182,000 in Q4 2023, up 10% year-over-year.
- Serious delinquency rates for mortgages reached 4.24% in 2023.
- In 2023, 1 in 2,214 homes received a foreclosure filing.
- Florida led with 27% of all U.S. foreclosure filings in 2023.
- Completed foreclosures numbered 268,000 in 2023.
Evictions Interpretation
The chilling math of modern America reveals that while we've meticulously counted every eviction filing and foreclosure, we've utterly failed to count the value of stable homes for families, particularly those who are Black, female-led, or simply poor.
Impacts
- Housing insecure adults have 40% higher mortality rates than housed peers.
- Homeless individuals die 30 years earlier on average than general population.
- Eviction associated with 15% increase in mental health hospitalizations.
- Housing instability linked to 20% higher depression rates in children.
- Cost-burdened households report 2x food insecurity rates.
- Homeless youth 2-4 times more likely to experience PTSD.
- Severe rent burden correlates with 25% higher emergency room visits.
- Housing insecurity raises child maltreatment reports by 18%.
- Unsheltered homelessness linked to 3x higher overdose death rates.
- Evicted renters face 40% higher unemployment post-eviction.
- Chronic homelessness costs $35,000+ per person annually in services.
- Housing First programs reduce healthcare costs by 50%.
- 1 in 5 housing insecure adults skip medications due to costs.
- Homelessness increases domestic violence victimization by 2x.
- Severe housing cost burden linked to 1.5x higher suicide attempts.
- Children in unstable housing miss 20% more school days.
- Housing insecurity associated with 30% higher obesity rates.
- Eviction filings reduce credit scores by 100+ points on average.
- Homeless veterans have 5x higher suicide rates.
- Housing instability in pregnancy increases low birth weight by 15%.
- 60% of housing insecure report chronic stress-related health issues.
- Rapid rehousing reduces returns to shelter by 80%.
Impacts Interpretation
These statistics don't just describe a housing crisis; they are a life-and-death audit of the human toll exacted when people cannot secure a stable home.
Policies
- In 2023, HUD funded 400,000+ beds through Continuum of Care program.
- Section 8 vouchers served 5 million low-income individuals in 2023.
- Emergency rental assistance prevented 1 million evictions in 2021-2023.
- Only 1 in 4 eligible households receive housing vouchers due to funding caps.
- Low-Income Housing Tax Credit financed 3 million affordable units since 1986.
- Public housing units total 1.1 million serving 1.9 million people in 2023.
- Homeless Assistance Grants totaled $3.2 billion in FY2023.
- Eviction moratoriums reduced filings by 50% during 2020-2021.
- Housing First approach housed 90% of participants long-term.
- VA's HUD-VASH vouchers ended veteran homelessness in 11 communities.
- FY2024 budget proposed $3.6 billion for homeless assistance.
- Rental assistance waitlists average 2-5 years in major cities.
- Project-based Section 8 serves 1.2 million units nationwide.
- Continuum of Care program renewed 7,000 projects in 2023.
- Emergency Solutions Grants distributed $400 million post-pandemic.
- Right to Counsel laws in NYC prevented 35% of evictions.
- Build Back Better proposed 200,000 new vouchers, but not passed.
- State rental assistance programs aided 800,000 households in 2022.
- HOME Investment Partnerships funded 1.5 million affordable units.
- National Housing Trust Fund allocated $1.25 billion in 2023.
Policies Interpretation
While these programs form a vital safety net, they are perpetually patching holes in a dam that continues to spring new leaks, as funding shortages force us to choose who gets a lifeboat and who is left treading water.
Prevalence
- On a single night in January 2023, 653,104 people were experiencing homelessness in the United States, a 12.1 percent increase from 2022.
- Approximately 18 out of every 10,000 people in the U.S. experienced homelessness on that single night in 2023.
- The homeless population in 2023 included 240,358 sheltered individuals and 412,746 unsheltered individuals.
- New York City had the largest homeless population with 91,271 people on a single night in 2023.
- California's homeless population reached 171,521 in 2023, accounting for over 26% of the national total.
- From 2019 to 2023, overall homelessness increased by 18.1 percent nationally.
- In 2022, about 582,462 people experienced homelessness on a single night, up 5.6% from prior year.
- Chronic homelessness affected 143,361 people in 2023, representing 22% of the total homeless population.
- Family homelessness rose by 15.5 percent from 2022 to 2023, affecting 149,147 individuals in families.
- Individual adults without children made up 65% of the homeless population in 2023.
- Unaccompanied youth homelessness was reported at 34,838 in the 2023 Point-in-Time count.
- Veterans experiencing homelessness numbered 35,000 in 2023, down 7.5% from 2022.
- In 2023, 28 states and the District of Columbia saw increases in homelessness of 10% or more.
- Sheltered homelessness increased by 7.8% from 2022 to 2023.
- Unsheltered homelessness surged by 16.0% between 2022 and 2023.
- In 2020, prior to pandemic counts, homelessness was estimated at 580,466 nationally.
- The 2020 Point-in-Time count showed a 2.4% increase in homelessness from 2019.
- During the 2020 COVID-19 count, 253,350 people were experiencing sheltered homelessness.
- In fiscal year 2022, 316,000 people exited shelter into permanent housing.
- Emergency shelter and transitional housing served 432,542 people in 2023 PIT counts.
- In 2023, New York state had 94,088 homeless individuals, the highest in the nation.
- Los Angeles city reported 75,518 homeless people in 2023 PIT count.
- Seattle/King County had 13,368 homeless individuals in 2023.
- From 2007 to 2023, overall homelessness decreased by 9.4%, but recent years reversed the trend.
- In 2023, 39% of the homeless population resided in California, New York, Florida, Washington, and Massachusetts.
- The 2023 PIT count identified 127,000 people experiencing unsheltered chronic homelessness.
- Total homelessness in 2022 was 582,462, with unsheltered making up 37%.
- In 2021, homelessness increased by 7% to approximately 580,000 people.
- Over half a million people experienced homelessness on a given night in 2019.
- The 2024 PIT count preliminary data shows continued rises in several continuums.
Prevalence Interpretation
Despite the frequent political theater of "addressing homelessness," these statistics starkly reveal a national tragedy that is not only persisting but accelerating, with nearly two-thirds of over 650,000 souls lacking basic shelter proving our solutions are being outpaced by the crisis.
Sources & References
- Reference 1HUDUSERhuduser.govVisit source
- Reference 2NLIHCnlihc.orgVisit source
- Reference 3ENDHOMELESSNESSendhomelessness.orgVisit source
- Reference 4CBPPcbpp.orgVisit source
- Reference 5CENSUScensus.govVisit source
- Reference 6APARTMENTLISTapartmentlist.comVisit source
- Reference 7JCHSjchs.harvard.eduVisit source
- Reference 8EVICTIONLABevictionlab.orgVisit source
- Reference 9PRINCETONprinceton.eduVisit source
- Reference 10CORELOGICcorelogic.comVisit source
- Reference 11MBAmba.orgVisit source
- Reference 12ATTOMDATAattomdata.comVisit source
- Reference 13NCBIncbi.nlm.nih.govVisit source
- Reference 14URBANurban.orgVisit source
- Reference 15VAva.govVisit source
- Reference 16HUDhud.govVisit source
- Reference 17TREASURYtreasury.govVisit source