After nearly a decade of consistent increases in homelessness and stagnant affordable housing development, an overwhelming majority of Angelenos are struggling to afford a home, according to new data released today by The Angeleno Project. Prepared in partnership with the California Housing Partnership, “The Hard Facts: LA Homelessness and Housing by the Numbers 2023” reveals that 80% of renters living below and far below poverty spend more than half of their incomes on housing. After the passage of local measures, like Measure HHH, the City of Los Angeles is on track to reach its target of 10,000 Permanent Supportive Housing units. But, as housing costs continue rising, supply is severely behind demand, with LA short some 270,000 affordable housing units to meet current demand.  

The Angeleno Project compiled critical housing and homelessness data points to illustrate the scale of the housing and homelessness crisis in Los Angeles. Statistics in the factbook include:

  • Los Angeles is failing to meet the current demand for affordable housing while simultaneously losing affordable housing units at alarming rates.

  • LA is currently some 270,000 units short of the affordable housing it would need to meet current demand.

  • Some 3,500 housing units are at high or very high risk of losing their affordability terms, threatening to push more families into homelessness.

  • A significant dip in affordable housing that started in 2022 post-COVID-19 continues to trend downward. The production rate is the lowest we’ve seen in over a decade. It reflects a decrease similar to what was experienced during the last Great Recession.

  • In 2022, there were only two housing units for very low-income tenants for every 11 market-rate housing units.

  • 80% of extremely low-income renters pay over half their income toward housing costs.

  • Black Angelenos who rent are the most rent-burdened – with 45% of Black Renters spending more than half of their income on housing.

Encouraged by the critical progress that Mayor Karen Bass and the LA County Board of Supervisors have made and the new spirit of cooperation that we’re seeing with state and federal leaders, we want to build on this momentum. We are urgently calling on public and private sector leaders to think about the scale of the need and the scope of the challenge. Some of the baseline solutions our group is calling for include:  

  • Supporting funding for all housing options and services to transition the tens of thousands of people experiencing homelessness into housing that meets their needs.

  • Supporting a construction boom similar to post-WWII levels and explore nontraditional forms of financing and public-private partnerships. Considering the outsized impacts of the housing shortage on communities of color – including Black and Latinx households, respectively. Ensuring that all Angelenos have access to affordable housing units in the communities where they live, work, and play.

  • Exploring all creative housing models, for example, supporting families trying to house unsheltered relatives, supporting host families, and supporting rental support for those on social security, especially those experiencing mental health challenges.

Read our full press release here.

About Us: The Angeleno Project is an initiative launched by the Committee for a Greater Los Angeles. In 2020, the Committee for Greater LA brought a diverse group of Angelenos together around a shared vision that the region’s response to the pandemic crisis could catalyze systemic change. Through the work of Action Teams, the Committee produced nine reports examining disparities in Los Angeles and recommending bold and systemic solutions to address critical issues in four key areas: housing and homelessness, anti-Black racism, the digital divide, and equitable support of the nonprofit sector.