A rare bipartisan consensus is emerging in many U. The problem with this growing consensus is that it has led many local leaders further away from proven root-cause solutions for reducing homelessness, and toward costly and ineffective punitive measures that pose significant risks to people experiencing homelessness, and, paradoxically, increase the general risk of making homelessness worse.
Taken together, our research supports the need for U. By doing so, local leaders can not only help cities and their downtowns recover from current economic disruptions, but they can also cultivate a sustainable regional ecosystem in which access to housing, economic stability, and opportunity is a human right. This report synthesizes findings related to homelessness.
Before diving into recent homelessness trends impacting U. For instance, the most visible form of homelessness—when people are unsheltered and live in public spaces like parks, subway stations, or streets—represents only one-third or less of the unhoused population in most cities, despite capturing the bulk of resident and media attention , as well as significant city resources.
Stark regional variations in the prevalence of homelessness across U. As Table 1 demonstrates, cities on the West Coast have higher homelessness rates than other regions—representing seven of the 10 cities with the highest total homelessness rates per capita.
West Coast cities also stand out for higher shares of their homeless population living without shelter. These findings generally align with research showing that above any other factor, regional housing market dynamics—particularly when rents rise by amounts that low-income residents cannot afford— drive geographic variations in the prevalence of homelessness across U.
