The US is on track to hit another record high rate of homelessness this year, according to preliminary data collected and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Housing costs and rent prices are soaring in the US, and as a result many Americans are left without roofs over their heads.
The Journal collected and reviewed data from more than 250 homeless-service organizations which assist cities, as well as metro and rural areas.
Thus far the news agency has counted about 550,000 homeless people on a single night earlier this year, which they say is up about 10% from what was reported last year. Taking that data into account, the report suggests the US is likely to top its previous homelessness rate of 653,000 people in 2023 which is the highest rate ever recorded for the US since the government first began sharing data in 2007.
However the final numbers have not been collected from all reported areas, including New York City which recorded the highest rate of homelessness last year.
Texas’ decision to bus migrants to cities such as Chicago and Denver may have contributed to the rising numbers, the report said. Large populations of migrants also arrived in New York from Texas, increasing the numbers there as well. Chicago recorded the highest increase of homelessness thus far, with more than seven of every 10 homeless people being recorded as a migrant in shelter, the report said citing city data.
The report also said that nearly half of the 7,250 families in Massachusetts’ family shelters were migrants, and the state expected to spend more than $1 billion on shelters this fiscal year,
Home prices in the US have risen 2.4 times faster than inflation since the 1960s, according to a research report by Clever Real Estate, a real estate data company. If home prices in the US had increased at the same rate as inflation since 1963, then the average cost of a home in the US would be a little over $177,000. However, the average house in the US costs over $430,000.
The COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to the US housing crisis as people decided to move based on new, pandemic-based lifestyles. And the end to aid during that time has exacerbated the issue. Mental health crises and drug use, such as the use of fentanyl, have also contributed to the number of those struggling to find housing.