The Impact of California on the 2017 Homeless Count Results

-California Experienced a Weighty Increase in Homelessness- 

-Rest of the Country Collectively Experienced a Decrease
Similar to Annual National Decreases for Each Year during this Decade- 

Homelessness increased for the first time in seven years as noted in the table below, which consists of data provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).[1] 

Table 1. Total number of persons counted as homeless between 2009 and 2017.

 There was an annual decrease in the total number of persons counted as homeless during the seven years between 2011 and 2016. The average decrease for the six-year period was 14,525 persons or 2.4%. 

Appendix A compares the total number of persons counted as homeless in 2016 and 2017 by state and the District of Columbia. States highlighted in red experienced increases, which includes 19 states. The state with the biggest increase in 2017 was California. There were 118,142 persons counted in 2016 and 134,278 in 2017, which represents an increase of 16,136 persons or 13.7%. 

Table 2 notes that there was a 3,981 increase in the total number of persons counted in 2017 when compared to 2016 with California. The result is nearly a one percent (0.7%) increase. 

The table also notes that without California, there was a 12,155 decrease in the number of persons counted as homeless, which represents a 2.8% decrease. This decrease is in-line with the national decreases during the six-year period of 2011 through 2016. As previously stated, the average decrease for the six-year period was 14,525 persons and 2.4%. 

Table 2. Comparison of the total number of persons counted as homeless in 2016 and 2017 by all states and District of Columbia with and without California

*Does not include the total number of persons counted as homeless in the territories of Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands, which, if included, would bring the total to 553,742 as noted in Table 1. 

The impact of the increase of persons counted as homeless in California is significant when conveying and communicating the magnitude of the homeless counts results and their implications to stakeholders and the public.   

Another brief will follow and take a close look at California because not all jurisdictions within the state contributed to the increase. The brief will also provide a list of initiatives that are being implemented in California as part of an overall solution to homelessness.  

Appendix A
(States highlighted in red experienced increases) 

 See which states experienced increases and decreases in persons counted as homeless between 2016 and 2017: Nationwide 2017 Homeless Count Numbers Broken Down by Region in U.S. 

For more information regarding the results of the 2017 homeless count and next steps, see  

• 2017 Point-in-Time Estimates Show Significant Geographical Variations in Our Progress Toward Ending Homelessness, Matthew Doherty, Executive Director, United States Interagency Council on Homeless.  

• 2017 AHAR: Part 1 – PIT Estimates of Homelessness in the U.S, which is a report published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which “outlines the key findings of the 2017 Point-In-Time (PIT) count and Housing Inventory Count (HIC) conducted in January 2017. Specifically, this report provides 2017 national, state, and CoC-level PIT and HIC estimates of homelessness, as well as estimates of chronically homeless persons, homeless veterans, and homeless children and youth.”