Are the number of homeless in LA booming? Why?

I've been doing a bunch of reading/research on this topic. Ironically one of the biggest predictors of homelessness are rising home prices. Many experts agree that about 50% of the problem can be attributed this this.

Mental ilness also plays a big roll. Ironically local weather is less of a driver than one might guess.

Communities with better homeless benefits play an frustrating game of Catch 22. Providing more economic help to this population can remove people from being without a roof over their head, but also attracts folks from nearby areasowns who relocate for those same benefits.

The Homeless Boom in Los Angeles

The city of vagrants sees a 7.9% increase in the last year.

By The Editorial Board, WSJ

July 24, 2026 6:09 pm ET

Tens of thousands of people have left Los Angeles since the pandemic, but one group isn’t leaving: the homeless. A new city report finds that the number of people living on the streets keeps rising. Maybe there’s a connection between population flight and vagrancy.

The city’s overall homeless population rose 3.4% including those the city puts up in motels. The number sleeping outside in encampments or vehicles rose 7.9%. All told, the city counted 45,194 homeless in January, up from 35,550 in 2019 and 41,980 in 2022 when Mayor Karen Bass was elected.

Ms. Bass has squandered hundreds of millions of dollars on homeless programs that appear to have had no effect. Under her signature program, the city has spent $82,420 a year for each homeless person it has sheltered in motels. Some 40% have returned to the streets, often because of drug addictions.

A third-party audit of L.A.’s homeless agency last year found the city wasn’t tracking how much was being spent, the number of beds or other services being provided, or outcomes for putative beneficiaries. Federal Judge David Carter, who presided over a lawsuit against the city, expressed astonishment at the findings.

“Nobody is asking our providers what they did or what services they performed,” he said. “We may have providers who committed fraud and we may never know.” Ms. Bass would prefer voters not know.

In November she faces a mayoral runoff against City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, a Democratic Socialists of America member who opposes clearing encampments. Angelinos tired of feces and needles on the sidewalks can look forward to more of the same.