The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority released preliminary raw Unsheltered Count data for the 2025 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count. Based on these early numbers, the Homeless Services Authority expects unsheltered homelessness within the Los Angeles Continuum of Care to decrease by 5-10% when full results are released later this year. For the first time since the passage of Measure H, the Los Angeles region has experienced two consecutive annual decreases in unsheltered homelessness.

The Homeless Count included a survey of homeless in the Santa Clarita Valley.

“When I first came to LAHSA, I publicly stated that we wanted to reduce unsheltered homelessness within three years. We’ve done it in two,” said Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum, CEO of the LAHSA. “The turning point came when the city and county aligned by declaring states of emergency on homelessness and proceeded to collaborate through LAHSA to address the crisis. We commend them for that.”

The Homeless Services Authority used raw data from the 2025 Unsheltered Count to make this determination. The expected drop in unsheltered homelessness occurred within the Los Angeles Continuum of Care that the Homeless Services Authority oversees. The Los Angeles Continuum of Care consists of every city, including Santa Clarita, and the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County except Glendale, Pasadena, and Long Beach.

This data does not include the annual multiplier developed by the Homeless Services Authority’s data partners at the University of Southern California. The multiplier is crucial to developing the annual Homeless Count estimate. Compared to 2024, the 2025 raw data have approximately 3,600 fewer counts of people and dwellings (tents, makeshift shelters and vehicles).

Despite those limitations, the preliminary data is the latest in a string of data releases that indicate the Los Angeles region is on the right track to solving homelessness. In June 2024, the Homeless Services Authority announced that the Homeless Count had decreased in Los Angeles city and county for the first time since 2017. In the same announcement, the Homeless Services Authority noted that unsheltered homelessness in the city of Los Angeles dropped by 10%, while the county experienced a 5% decrease. Both sets of numbers are supported by a record 27,419 permanent housing placements in 2023.

This January, the Homeless Services Authority officials released the system data for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. The data showed that the rehousing system performed more efficiently. During that 12-month period, the rehousing system moved 45% more people from the street to permanent housing, 32% more people from the street to interim housing and 29% more people from interim to permanent housing.

Recent data reports show that the Los Angeles area continues to buck the national trend on homelessness. The 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report signaled an 18% increase across the nation, while Los Angeles saw a decrease.

The Homeless Services Authority credits the positive trend in homelessness data over the last year to the collaboration and alignment between the city and county of Los Angeles, several innovations the Homeless Services Authority has implemented after studying the successful Houston model, including:

Encampment Resolution Efforts: Adams Kellum worked with city of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to create Inside Safe. The Homeless Services Authority provides support and coordination to Inside Safe and the County’s Pathway Home, bringing thousands of L.A. County residents inside.

Strike Team: The Homeless Services Authority created a team whose job is to prevent bottlenecks in the rehousing system, allowing more people to move forward on their journey to a safe and affordable home.

Batch Matching: The Homeless Services Authority now identifies multiple people for every supportive housing unit through one universal housing application. Once someone moves in, the others are eligible for the next building openings in that service planning area. This means fewer homes stay empty and more people come inside faster.

Master Leasing: The Homeless Services Authority leases entire apartment buildings, which cuts red tape and allows it to house people in every unit in just a few weeks instead of the average of four months.

The rehousing system’s improved performance comes as several of the Homeless Services Authority’s funders weigh whether or not to reallocate the agency’s funding to other departments. Adams Kellum noted that decision-makers should be focused on continuing the momentum the Homeless Services Authority, the rehousing system, the city and county have produced over the last two years.

“It’s important for decision-makers to focus on change while continuing the momentum LAHSA, the rehousing system, the City and County have produced over the last two years,” said Adams Kellum. “L.A. has been waiting years for this moment. Let’s trust what we have built and the real progress we are making.”

The Homeless Services Authority will release the final 2025 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count results in late spring/early summer 2025.