Migrant Crisis Pushed US Homelessness to Record High in 2024
Biden administration officials say the increase in the annual point-in-time homelessness count was driven by a surge of asylum seekers in January.
Migrants wait to receive shelter placement in NYC in December 2023.
Photographer: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis News via Getty Images
Homelessness in the US soared to its highest level since the federal government began keeping track nearly 20 years ago, according to a new report from the Biden administration, driven by high rents and a lack of affordable options but also a crush of migrants claiming asylum at the US border with Mexico.
Nearly 772,000 people were counted as homeless on a single night in January 2024, an 18% increase over the prior year’s count, which itself set a record for the number of homeless people nationwide. The count includes more than 80,000 families with children, whose ranks grew dramatically — up 39% over 2023.