Homelessness rates jumped by double digits in 2024 as Americans battled to afford housing

More Americans were homeless this year compared with 2023 as families continued struggling to afford rent and other basic necessities, federal officials announced Friday.

Across the U.S., more than 771,800 people lived without housing in 2024, according to a count taken annually on a single night in January. The number for January 2024 is 18.1% higher than in 2023, when officials counted about 650,000 people living in homeless shelters or in parks and on streets. In 2022, the population of people experiencing homelessness was about 580,000.

"The numbers are just mind-...