While homelessness across the United States increased by a dramatic 18% in 2024 compared to a year earlier, the Los Angeles region was among a handful of areas bucking the national trend, with a 5% drop in unsheltered homelessness over the same period, the first such drop in seven years, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Friday.

Part 1 of HUD’s annual Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, a snapshot of the number of people in shelters, temporary housing or unsheltered settings, found more than 770,000 people nationwide were homeless on a single night in January, an 18% increase from 2023.

According to HUD, the nationwide increase in homelessness in 2024 was tied to migration, displacement by natural disasters such as the Maui fire and rising costs of housing.

However, Los Angeles was among jurisdictions marked by a decrease in homelessness, HUD data found.

Struggling with a high-cost rental market, Los Angeles increased the availability of housing for homeless individuals and families, combining federal, state, county and city funds, according to the federal agency.

“This crisis has been decades in the making, but after years of increases, we’ve turned the corner with the first decrease in street homelessness in years, by acting with innovative solutions that have resulted in thousands more people inside and more housing being built throughout the city,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. “There’s still more work to do and this urgent work will continue in 2025.”

The Los Angeles region, which had 71,201 homeless individuals, both sheltered and unsheltered, meanwhile remained at the top for continuums of care in California, according to HUD data.

Moreover, California, the state with the country’s highest population, led the U.S. in the number of homeless people, followed by New York, Washington, Florida and Massachusetts.

The city and county of San Diego stood at 10,605, followed by San Jose/Santa Clara at 10,394; Oakland and Berkeley/Alameda County at 9,450; San Francisco at 8,323; and Santa Ana and Anaheim/Orange County at 7,322. Nationwide, family homelessness increased by 39% compared to 2023.

The homelessness count was done during a period of significant increase in rental costs as a result of the pandemic and nearly decades of underbuilding housing, HUD said.

The Maui fire, among other natural disasters, also led to an increase in homelessness. In Hawaii, more than 5,200 people were sleeping in disaster emergency shelters on the night of the count.

Meanwhile, the number of homeless veterans decreased nearly 8% nationwide from 35,574 in 2023 to 32,882 in 2024, according to HUD’s data. The figure for unsheltered veterans dropped nearly 11%, from 15,507 in 2023 to 13,851 in 2024.

In L.A. County, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s 2024 homelessness count showed a 22.9% decrease in veteran homelessness.

Bass’ office cited several initiatives, done in partnership with federal leaders, that led to this decline, such as boosting participation in a veteran housing voucher program, HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing, and making changes policy changes regarding veterans’ benefits.

“Los Angeles is one of the few communities in the country that saw a decrease in homelessness,” Va Lecia Adams Kellum, CEO of the homeless services authority, said in a statement. “What’s happening in L.A. is working.

“Now is not the time to go backward,” she continued. “Our community must redouble its efforts in pursuing what we know works to bring all our unsheltered neighbors home.”

According to the authority, its 2024 homelessness count found that the majority, about 54%, of people who became homeless cited economic hardship as one of the main reasons they lost their home.