The newly-released report, compiled for Congress by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, estimated that the number of people experiencing homelessness increased by 33% over the last four years, a figure that includes a 40% increase in sheltered homeless people and a 21% increase in unsheltered homeless people.

Homelessness in the U.S. jumped 18.1% this year, hitting a record level, with the dramatic rise driven mostly by a lack of affordable housing as well as devastating natural disasters and a surge of migrants in some regions of the country,

Homelessness in the United States soared to the highest level on record, according to government data released Friday.

Homelessness in the U.S. reached a record high in 2024, according to a new survey from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The annual federal count finds more than 770,000 people living in shelters or outside. It cites rising rents and the recent surge in migrants as key factors behind the increase.

HUD’s report also included data that showed an 8 percent decrease in homelessness among veterans, a record low.