Homelessness is the worst it has ever been for everyone — except veterans

• Homelessness hit a record high this year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development found.
• About 770,000 people were experiencing unsheltered homelessness in January.
• In a silver lining, homelessness among veterans decreased markedly.

This year, homelessness was the worst it has ever been — for everyone except veterans, that is.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development released the results from the annual point-in-time surveys of unsheltered homeless people, which cities nationwide conducted in January.

Overall, homelessness was the highest it has been since the government began keeping track, with about 770,000 experiencing unsheltered homelessness on a single night in January. That’s an 18% increase from the same time in 2023, the HUD said in its report released on Friday.

“While this data is nearly a year old and no longer reflects the situation we are seeing, it is critical that we focus on evidence-based efforts to prevent and end homelessness,” Adrianne Todman, HUD’s acting secretary, said in a press release.

Veterans were the sole group that saw a positive change. According to the survey, homelessness among veterans dropped to 32,882, the lowest number on record and about an 8% decrease from 2023. Unsheltered homelessness among veterans also dropped to 13,851, an 11% decrease from 2023.

“This year, HUD has helped connect nearly 90,000 veteran households to stable, rental homes,” the department said in the press release. The Department of Veterans Affairs permanently housed 47,925 vets in 2024.

Researchers at the Brookings Institution found that homeless people in many major cities rely on temporary and emergency shelters. Building paths to permanent housing, on the other hand, improved housing access overall, leading to declines in homelessness in some cities, the researchers found.