Los Angeles County’s homeless population fell for a second consecutive year, dropping 4% to an estimated 72,308 people, according to the 2025 Point-in-Time Count released by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. The city of Los Angeles recorded a 3.4% decline to 43,699 people, marking the first back-to-back annual decrease since the regional count began in 2005. The agency reported a 9.5% reduction in unsheltered homelessness countywide and a 7.9% decline within the city. Over the past two years, the city’s street homeless population is down 17.5%, while makeshift shelters such as tents, cars and RVs have fallen 13.5%. At the same time, the number of unhoused individuals in interim accommodations rose 8.5% across the county and 4.7% in the city. Mayor Karen Bass credited initiatives like her Inside Safe encampment-resolution program and greater coordination with the county for moving thousands of people indoors. “These results aren’t just data points—they represent human beings now inside and neighborhoods beginning to heal,” Bass said, noting that consecutive declines had never before been recorded. Governor Gavin Newsom also acknowledged the progress, which follows billions of dollars in state and local spending on homelessness. The count, conducted 18-20 February and designed by University of Southern California researchers in line with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development standards, nonetheless drew criticism from some community advocates who question its methodology and cite high mortality rates among unhoused Angelenos. LAHSA officials said the region still needs more than 485,000 affordable housing units to sustain the downward trend and warned that looming federal and state budget cuts could slow future gains.