Homeless population in LA County down for second year in a row, preliminary data shows

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Preliminary data released exclusively to Eyewitness News shows the number of homeless people in Los Angeles County dropped for the second year in a row.

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority says the number is now at just over 29,000, which is down from roughly 32,000 last year.

The organization released preliminary data from the 2025 point-in-time homeless count conducted about a month ago.

LAHSA data - which covers all of L.A. County except Glendale, Long Beach and Pasadena - shows homelessness is down for the second year in a row. The raw data of the 2023 count found over 36,000 homeless in L.A County. Last year, the number dropped to 32,655 and this year the number is down to 29,053.

"The raw data that we're seeing is very encouraging, and it's showing a 5-10% reduction in unsheltered homelessness," LAHSA CEO Va Lecia Adams Kellum said. "That comes from this kind of alignment. The call of a state of emergency and to focus unsheltered homelessness, and that is encouraging and that is a reason why we want to see city and county continue to work together."

A recent audit criticized the agency for a lack of data and financial systems used to track homeless programs.

For six straight years, the homeless count found an increase in L.A. County's homeless population. Two years ago, Adams Kellum took over LAHSA and says she's not surprised by the findings of the audit and believes LAHSA has already made real progress correcting many of the issues identified.

"The audits are a look back. Back even as far as 2017, and while they do cover a sliver, the first year of my time at LAHSA, we were doing our own internal audits in our first year, looking at the systems," Adams Kellum said. "Changing systems within the finance department and data department and contracts department because we saw those issues and are working to improve them."

But some in the county have seen enough and want to leave LAHSA.

"This audit is another reminder of what we already know - the current homelessness services system is broken," L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said in a statement. "We cannot accept this dysfunction any longer.

"No more waste through duplicated resources. No more contracts for services that don't deliver. We need accountability and results right now, which is why I'm proceeding with the creation of a consolidated county department that will end this nightmare."

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass supports the city and county staying in LAHSA.

As for the data received by Eyewitness News, it's important to note that it's raw data of the people actually counted. As the data is analyzed, researchers will produce an estimated number of total homeless in L.A. County, which will be significantly higher as more multiplying factors are included.