5 Cities With the Most Homelessness in America

A lack of affordable housing continues to fuel homelessness in America’s largest cities, according to a Council of Economic Advisers report.

The report, "The State of Homelessness in America," details where homelessness is most common in the U.S. and identifies reasons why some communities might have higher rates of homelessness than others.

Sheltered Vs. Unsheltered

The Department of Housing and Urban Development defines homelessness in two ways: sheltered or unsheltered.

Sheltered refers to low-income populations residing in emergency shelters or transitional housing.

"Transitional housing provides stays of up to 24 months, generally in project-based living environments, and often promotes self-sufficiency goals for recipients," according to the report.

Unsheltered refers to individuals who live on sidewalks, in their cars, or places like abandoned buildings.

550,000 people are homeless in the U.S., according to the report, with about 350,000 being sheltered and 200,000 unsheltered.

The national rate of homelessness is 17 people per 10,000 people.

Boston, Massachusetts has the highest rate of sheltered homelessness at 99.1 people per 10,000. San Francisco has the most unsheltered homelessness at 59.8 people per 10,000.

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California Struggles Statewide

Although San Francisco’s homeless population has been widely discussed by President Donald Trump and frequently covered by American media outlets, the Bay Area is far from alone in its struggle to alleviate homelessness.

California is home to four of the five cities with the highest rates of unsheltered homelessness in America.

Forty-seven percent of the nation’s unsheltered homeless people are found in California.

Los Angeles has 40.4 unsheltered homeless people per 10,000, Santa Rosa has 38.5 per 10,000 and San Jose has 30.3 per 10,000.

The following are cities in America with the highest rates of homelessness as measured by the combined sheltered and unsheltered populations, according to the Council of Economic Advisers.

1. Washington, D.C.: 103.3 homeless per 10,000.
2. Boston: 101.8 homeless per 10,000.
3. New York City: 101.5 homeless per 10,000.
4. San Francisco: 94.3 homeless per 10,000.
5. Santa Rosa: 59.8 homeless per 10,000.