Nearly 1 In 20 LA County Students Are Homeless, UCLA Report Finds

LOS ANGELES, CA — The number of California students experiencing homelessness reached a record 298,254 during the 2024-25 school year, marking a 10% increase since 2018-19, according to new research from the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools.

The report, “State of Crisis 2026: A Deepening Crisis of Students Experiencing Homelessness Across California,” examined statewide education data from the 2017-18 through 2024-25 school years.

Researchers analyzed California Department of Education data on homeless student enrollment, suspensions, chronic absenteeism, academic achievement, graduation and college attendance.

The findings show sharp disparities among racial groups. About 1 in 12 Black students and American Indian and Alaska Native students experienced homelessness during the 2024-25 school year. Those groups have consistently had the highest rates of student homelessness, and the disparities have widened over time, according to the report.

The report also found significant regional differences.

Southern California accounted for seven of the 10 school districts with the largest numbers of students experiencing homelessness.

The largest was Los Angeles Unified School District, where 21,298 students — or 4% of all those enrolled — were homeless.

In the Long Beach Unified School District, 4,470 students — or 6.8% of all students — were homeless.

Countywide, 4.7% of all students were experiencing homelessness in the 2024-25 school year.

Meanwhile, Northern California and the Central Coast were home to most of the 10 counties with the highest rates of student homelessness.

Elementary school districts on the Central Coast accounted for half of the 10 California districts with the highest rates.

Los Angeles County is home to one of the state's 10 worst elementary school districts for homelessness. At Mountain View Elementary in El Monte, 1,235 students — 26.3% of the total population — were homeless.

Students experiencing homelessness also continued to trail their housed classmates across every educational measure researchers examined, including attendance, suspensions, academic proficiency, graduation and college-going rates.

Chronic absenteeism, in particular, remained substantially higher among students experiencing homelessness, according to the report. Researchers said many of the gaps have persisted or widened over time.

“These numbers are particularly concerning given the extensive evidence documenting the harmful effects of housing instability on children’s development, health and educational outcomes,” Grace Kim, a research analyst at the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools and lead author of the report, said in a statement.

“The report makes clear that student homelessness is not only a housing issue, but a complex educational and developmental crisis requiring sustained, coordinated public action,” Kim said.

The report comes as California has approved a one-time $116 million allocation aimed at helping schools identify K-12 students experiencing homelessness and support their educational success.

Joseph Bishop, executive director of the Center for the Transformation of Schools and a report author, called the allocation the largest dedicated state investment in the country focused on housing-insecure youth.

“We look forward to working with our state’s policymakers and educators to ensure that California’s most housing-insecure students have an equitable opportunity to succeed,” Bishop said. “Our hope is that this new research can serve as a roadmap for prevention and systems change.”

Read the full report here.