Homelessness in Los Angeles County

New 2019 Numbers

According to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, in 2019, approximately 50,000 to 60,000 persons may be found homeless on any given night in Los Angeles County, more than 44,000 of them on the streets. Youth, from minors through age 24, make up 8,915 of the county's homeless population (8,072 in 2018).

Although homeless people may be found throughout the county, the largest concentrations are in the central Los Angeles area (27%) and in South Los Angeles (16%). Most are from the Los Angeles area and stay in or near the communities from which they came. About 7% are veterans. African Americans make up 34% of Los Angeles County's homeless population - hughly disproportionate to the percentage of African Americans overall in Los Angeles County (about 8 percent).

Other Facts About the 2019 Homeless Population in Los Angeles County:

• 9% are under age 18.
• 31% are female.
• 15% are in family units (often headed by a single mother}.
• 16% are physically disabled.
• 28% are chronically homeless.
• 15% of homeless population have substance abuse disorders.
• 25% of homeless population suffers from serious mental illness.
• 7% of homeless population were victims of domestic/intimate partner violence.

Homeless Population Counts
By the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority

Since 2005, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, an agency of the City of Los Angeles, has conducted numerical and demographic counts of homelessness, not only within the city of Los Angeles, but throughout Los Angeles County. Over the course of three days in January, this count is conducted with the help of thousands of volunteers branching out throughout Los Angeles County.

Homeless Population Counts in Los Angeles County
All Los Angeles County & City of Los Angeles

Homeless Population Counts in Los Angeles County
By Service Planning Areas

Map of Los Angeles County Service Planning Areas

Percentages in tables that follow are against total homeless population for that specific geographic.

Race/Ethnicity of Homeless
Point-in-Time Count, January 2018 & 2019

Age Group of Homeless
Point-in-Time Count, January 2018 & 2019

Demographic Characteristics of Homeless
Point-in-Time Count, January 2018 & 2019

* Accumulated numbers for all Service Planning Areas. These do not include numbers for Pasadena, Glendale and Long Beach.
** Percentage is prevalence in homeless population age 18 and over.
*** All numbers are county-wide except for Physical Disability, Developmental Disability, and Domestic Violence Experience. These numbers do not include Pasadena, Glendale and Long Beach.

The 2019 homeless count by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority found countywide 66 unaccompanied homeless minors (under age 18) (63 in 2018) of which 45 were unsheltered (28 in 2018); 2,134 unsheltered transitional age youth (age 18-24) (1,577 in 2018); and 1,511 sheltered transitional age youth (1,521 in 2018).

The 2019 homeless count in Los Angeles County found 16,528 people living in motor vehicles (including recreational vehicles or campers). In 2018, 15,748 were counted.

Source: Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority

Also see: Shelter Partnership, Inc

TAX & BOND REVENUES TO FIGHT HOMELESSNESS:

City of Los Angeles Supportive Housing Proposition (Proposition HHH, $1.2-billion bond, passed November 2016)
County of Los Angeles Homeless Initiative (Measure H, 1/4-cent sales tax increase, passed March 2017).

Is it less costly to help the homeless get off the street than to leave them there? Weingart Center, in a 2015 interview with Fast Company, proposed that an "investment" of $10,000 can help a homeless person obtain housing, food, job training and ultimately a job, along with support services to acheive that end. On the other hand, leaving a homeless person on the street costs Los Angeles an average of $35,000 each year in medical and emergency services, mental health care, social services and law enforcement. Jailing a homeless person pushes that cost up by a third.

L.A. Video