SACRAMENTO – In a Friday news dump, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its annual homelessness assessment report today that shows the homeless crisis here in California continues to deteriorate. The report found that on a single night in 2023:

• California has more than 181,000 homeless people. This remains the largest state homeless population in the nation and makes up nearly 30% of the nation’s total. 
• California’s homeless population increased 5.8% since last year.
• Nearly half of the nation’s unsheltered population is in California. This population size is nearly eight times as large as the unsheltered population in the second-ranked state.
• 68% of California’s homeless population is unsheltered, the highest percentage in the nation.

“Despite spending $20 billion to address homelessness in California, the devastating crisis is only getting worse. Maybe Gavin Newsom should spend a little less time on late night talk shows and a little more time tackling an urgent issue that continues to be felt across our state.” – CAGOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson