In 2023, *** percent of the estimated number of homeless individuals in the United States were between the ages of 18 and 24, while *** percent were under 18.
In 2023, there were an estimated ******* white homeless people in the United States, the most out of any ethnicity. In comparison, there were around ******* Black or African American homeless people in the U.S. How homelessness is counted The actual number of homeless individuals in the U.S. is difficult to measure. The Department of Housing and Urban Development uses point-in-time estimates, where employees and volunteers count both sheltered and unsheltered homeless people during the last 10 days of January. However, it is very likely that the actual number of homeless individuals is much higher than the estimates, which makes it difficult to say just how many homeless there are in the United States. Unsheltered homeless in the United States California is well-known in the U.S. for having a high homeless population, and Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego all have high proportions of unsheltered homeless people. While in many states, the Department of Housing and Urban Development says that there are more sheltered homeless people than unsheltered, this estimate is most likely in relation to the method of estimation.
When analyzing the ratio of homelessness to state population, New York, Vermont, and Oregon had the highest rates in 2023. However, Washington, D.C. had an estimated ** homeless individuals per 10,000 people, which was significantly higher than any of the 50 states. Homeless people by race The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development performs homeless counts at the end of January each year, which includes people in both sheltered and unsheltered locations. The estimated number of homeless people increased to ******* in 2023 – the highest level since 2007. However, the true figure is likely to be much higher, as some individuals prefer to stay with family or friends - making it challenging to count the actual number of homeless people living in the country. In 2023, nearly half of the people experiencing homelessness were white, while the number of Black homeless people exceeded *******. How many veterans are homeless in America? The number of homeless veterans in the United States has halved since 2010. The state of California, which is currently suffering a homeless crisis, accounted for the highest number of homeless veterans in 2022. There are many causes of homelessness among veterans of the U.S. military, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse problems, and a lack of affordable housing.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687a5fc49b1337e9a7726bb4/StatHomeless_202503.ods">Statutory homelessness England level time series "live tables" (ODS, 314 KB)
For quarterly local authority-level tables prior to the latest financial year, see the Statutory homelessness release pages.
<p class="gem-c-attachment_metadata"><span class="gem-c-attachment_attribute"><abbr title="OpenDocument Spreadsheet" class="gem-c-attachment_abbr">ODS</abbr></span>, <span class="gem-c-attachment_attribute">1.2 MB</span></p>
<p class="gem-c-attachment_metadata">
This file is in an <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-open-document-formats-odf-in-your-organisation" target="_self" class="govuk-link">OpenDocument</a> format
This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.
Request an accessible format. If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email <a href="mailto:alternativeformats@communities.gov.uk" target="_blank" class="govuk-link">alternativeformats@communities.gov.uk</a>. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
Difficulty performing activities of daily living (“functional impairment”) is common in homeless adults aged 50 and older. However, little is known about the trajectory of these impairments, nor the extent to which these trajectories are similar to those of older adults in the general population. We identified trajectories of functional impairment in homeless adults aged 50 and older, and risk factors for differing trajectories. We conducted a prospective cohort study of 350 homeless adults, aged 50 and older, recruited via population-based sampling in Oakland, California and interviewed at 6-month intervals for up to 3 years. We assessed functional trajectories based on self-reported difficulty performing 5 activities of daily living. We used multivariable multinomial logistic regression to identify baseline risk factors for each trajectory. At baseline, participants’ mean age was 58 years (SD, 5.3), 24.1% were women, 80.9% were African American, and 38.6% had difficulty performing 1 or more activities of daily living. We identified 4 distinct functional trajectories: minimal impairment in 136 participants (41.1%); persistent impairment in 81 (25.4%); partial improvement in 74 (23.5%); and decline in 28 (10.0%). Risk factors for persistent impairment included falls in the 6 months before baseline, depressive symptoms, and low physical performance. Although functional impairment improved in some homeless adults, it persisted or worsened in many others. These findings suggest that, similar to older adults in the general population, functional impairment among older homeless persons is not a transient phenomenon, but instead a chronic issue requiring long-term solutions.
In 2023, the around 11.1 percent of the population was living below the national poverty line in the United States. Poverty in the United StatesAs shown in the statistic above, the poverty rate among all people living in the United States has shifted within the last 15 years. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines poverty as follows: “Absolute poverty measures poverty in relation to the amount of money necessary to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. The concept of absolute poverty is not concerned with broader quality of life issues or with the overall level of inequality in society.” The poverty rate in the United States varies widely across different ethnic groups. American Indians and Alaska Natives are the ethnic group with the most people living in poverty in 2022, with about 25 percent of the population earning an income below the poverty line. In comparison to that, only 8.6 percent of the White (non-Hispanic) population and the Asian population were living below the poverty line in 2022. Children are one of the most poverty endangered population groups in the U.S. between 1990 and 2022. Child poverty peaked in 1993 with 22.7 percent of children living in poverty in that year in the United States. Between 2000 and 2010, the child poverty rate in the United States was increasing every year; however,this rate was down to 15 percent in 2022. The number of people living in poverty in the U.S. varies from state to state. Compared to California, where about 4.44 million people were living in poverty in 2022, the state of Minnesota had about 429,000 people living in poverty.
In 2024, about one percent of the estimated number of homeless veterans in the United States were Native American or Pacific Islanders. In comparison, 52.1 percent were white and 31 percent were Black, African American, or African.
In 2023, the resident population of California was ***** million. This is a slight decrease from the previous year, with ***** million people in 2022. This makes it the most populous state in the U.S. Californian demographics Along with an increase in population, California’s gross domestic product (GDP) has also been increasing, from *** trillion U.S. dollars in 2000 to **** trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. In the same time period, the per-capita personal income has almost doubled, from ****** U.S. dollars in 2000 to ****** U.S. dollars in 2022. In 2023, the majority of California’s resident population was Hispanic or Latino, although the number of white residents followed as a close second, with Asian residents making up the third-largest demographic in the state. The dark side of the Golden State While California is one of the most well-known states in the U.S., is home to Silicon Valley, and one of the states where personal income has been increasing over the past 20 years, not everyone in California is so lucky: In 2023, the poverty rate in California was about ** percent, and the state had the fifth-highest rate of homelessness in the country during that same year, with an estimated ** homeless people per 10,000 of the population.
Out of all OECD countries, Cost Rica had the highest poverty rate as of 2022, at over 20 percent. The country with the second highest poverty rate was the United States, with 18 percent. On the other end of the scale, Czechia had the lowest poverty rate at 6.4 percent, followed by Denmark.
The significance of the OECD
The OECD, or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, was founded in 1948 and is made up of 38 member countries. It seeks to improve the economic and social well-being of countries and their populations. The OECD looks at issues that impact people’s everyday lives and proposes policies that can help to improve the quality of life.
Poverty in the United States
In 2022, there were nearly 38 million people living below the poverty line in the U.S.. About one fourth of the Native American population lived in poverty in 2022, the most out of any ethnicity. In addition, the rate was higher among young women than young men. It is clear that poverty in the United States is a complex, multi-faceted issue that affects millions of people and is even more complex to solve.
Not seeing a result you expected?
Learn how you can add new datasets to our index.
In 2023, *** percent of the estimated number of homeless individuals in the United States were between the ages of 18 and 24, while *** percent were under 18.