Homelessness increased 3% in California in 2024, according to a CalMatters analysis of new federal data. That's much better than the 18% increase in the nation as a whole, but California still has by far the most unhoused people in the country.

Along the Central Coast, local counties report a mixed bag. In San Luis Obispo County, last year’s count showed a 19% decrease in the number of people experiencing homelessness compared to 2022. On the other hand, the unhoused population in Santa Barbara went up nearly 11% last year, according to County numbers.

The contrast could be due to the difficulty conducting point-in-time counts, but the numbers also show that homelessness remains a major challenge on the Central Coast.

Kari Howell is the program manager for San Luis Obispo County’s Homeless Services Division and led the count last year.

“Folks experiencing homelessness like any population across the nation – they're not a monolith. These are individuals who are aging into chronicity. And these are individuals who may be youth or unaccompanied minors who are just starting out, experiencing homelessness in the nation. And so we need a response to both. How do you support a community where there are so many varying characteristics?”

Howell said a lack of affordable housing remains a major driver of homelessness in the region - and that communities need to find ways to build more of it.

Janna Nichols leads the nonprofit 5 Cities Homeless Coalition. She said that despite progress, SLO County must keep investing in services like outreach, prevention and transitional housing.

“While we have stood up a number of new programs, we have to maintain those programs and then, as I say, we need to make sure that we have the housing to move them out so that we can turn those beds and assist more people,” Nichols said.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s data, only six states saw a decrease in homeless populations.