SF's latest homeless count shows uptick in unhoused people

Total homelessness in San Francisco increased 7% between 2022 and 2024, the city's finalized "point-in-time" (PIT) count shows.

Why it matters: The city's response to the homelessness crisis has come under the spotlight in recent years and this year's PIT count, conducted on Jan. 30, is one way to assess efforts to clear encampments and place people in shelters.

Driving the news: While the report released Thursday shows an uptick in homelessness, it also signals an increase in shelter utilization, according to the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.

By the numbers: About 2,900 people lived in tents or on the streets on the night of the 2024 count, a 13% decrease from 2022. That's the lowest it's been in 10 years.

• Nearly 4,000 were living in shelters, a 39% increase from 2019.
• The number of people living in vehicles increased 37% from 2022, but decreased 20% from 2019.
• 9% of the overall homeless population identified as transgender or gender non-conforming, up from 4% in 2022.
• 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ+, up from 38% in 2022.

Between the lines: At 25%, Black people remain vastly overrepresented among the unhoused, despite comprising just 5% of the city's population. Latino and Indigenous people were also overrepresented.

Zoom out: In the past five years, homelessness increased 4% in San Francisco, 15% nationwide and 20% in California.

• Districts 5 and 6 in SF, which have the highest homeless populations, saw a 20% and 23% decrease in unsheltered homelessness, respectively, from 2022. The city defines people experiencing unsheltered homelessness as those sleeping in places like the streets or vehicles.
• During the same period, District 10 recorded a 78% jump in unsheltered homelessness, which the city attributes to an increase in people living in vehicles.
• Meanwhile, chronic homelessness increased by 11%, and 59% of PIT respondents said that they were last housed in San Francisco.

What we're watching: This year's PIT found that more people in the city said they became homeless while living in another California county than in prior years.

• It's spurred the mayor to order city workers to prioritize relocation services over housing or shelter, a move that's since garnered controversy .
• The city still faces a lawsuit from the Coalition on Homelessness , which has accused it of violating unhoused people's rights by destroying their property and unlawfully endangering their lives.