LA Homelessness Plummets for Second Straight Year: 2025 Count Reveals Significant Progress

Los Angeles County has reported a significant breakthrough in its fight against homelessness, with the 2025 annual count revealing a 4% decline in the overall homeless population. This marks the second consecutive year of decreases after a long period of steady increases.

The latest figures, based on a February 2025 snapshot and released this week, show an even more dramatic 10% reduction in the unsheltered population—those living directly on the streets. This decline brings the total estimated homeless population in the county to 72,308, with 47,413 unsheltered individuals.

Officials from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and Mayor Karen Bass attribute the success to intensified efforts, including accelerated encampment clearings and initiatives like Bass’s “Inside Safe” program and the county’s “Pathway Home.” Mayor Bass emphasized that these “aren’t just data points—they represent thousands of human beings who are now inside, and neighborhoods that are beginning to heal.”

While the unsheltered numbers have fallen, the sheltered homeless population saw an 8.5% increase, reflecting the strategy of moving individuals into temporary housing like shelters, hotels, and motels. This shift has raised the proportion of sheltered individuals from a historical 25% to approximately 34% countywide.

Despite the positive trend, challenges remain. Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath noted that at the current pace, it would take “three centuries to end homelessness.” Concerns about the sustainability of progress are also rising due to potential federal funding cuts (e.g., Section 8) and existing state and county budget constraints. Furthermore, LAHSA itself is undergoing significant restructuring, with hundreds of millions of county dollars set to be moved to a new agency next year following recent audits.

Some officials, like City Councilman Bob Blumenfield, expressed caution, stating they take LAHSA data “with a grain of salt” and stressing the need for more creative housing solutions given the high cost-to-progress ratio.

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