Homelessness in Long Beach increased just over 6%, with 219 more unhoused city residents compared with last year, according to results of the city’s annual point-in-time count.
Volunteers canvassed the city in the early hours of Jan. 23 and identified 3,595 people experiencing homelessness, according to figures released Monday.
More than 76% of the increase is a result of the wildfires that started Jan. 7, officials said. Among people surveyed, 167 said they were displaced by the fires that devastated large residential areas of Altadena, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, Pacific Palisades and Malibu and were still active during the point-in-time count.
City officials attributed 5% of the homelessness uptick to the fires and 1.5% to other causes.
People experiencing unsheltered homelessness this year totaled 2,606, or 72.4%, according to a city report newly released data. Unsheltered homelessness was 27.5% with a count of 989 individuals.
Among people in Long Beach who are newly homeless, 56.8% lost their housing in the city, while 26.7% came from nearby areas in Los Angeles and 6.2% came from Orange County.
“When we look at the City’s efforts to address homelessness apart from the tragic wildfires, we’ve seen improvements in areas where we have struggled in the past, such as a profound decrease in chronic homelessness,” Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement. “We’re proud of the progress that’s been made, and we remain committed to continuing that work.”
Chronic homelessness decreased to 1,678 individuals, with 477, or 28.4% sheltered and 1,201, or 71.6% unsheltered. A 46.6% increase in shelter access signals the effectiveness of targeted interventions, showing progress in reducing chronic homelessness.
The number of people reporting that they were newly homeless for the first time and for less than a year rose from 14.3% in 2024 to 16% in 2025. While the rate of first-time homelessness was unchanged, the increase new homelessness suggests that more people in the city have become homeless within this past year. In 2024, 1,595 people were able to find housing and exited homelessness, yet more people continue to fall into homelessness for a variety of reasons, according to the report.
Demographics
- Gender identity:
- Male: 69.9%
- Female: 29.3%
- Transgender/gender nonconforming: 2.9%
- Race/ethnicity:
- Black: 34.7%
- white: 24.8%
- Latinx: 24%
- multiple/other: 11%
- AAPI: 3.8%
- Native American: 1.6%
- Age: The average age dropped from 48.8 to 46.8 years.
Causes
According to the city, these are the top causes of homelessness:
- Financial/employment: 41.2%
- Family issues: 28.1%
- Eviction: 16%
- Mental health: 15.3%
- Physical disability: 11%
- Substance use: 9.5%
Efforts to reduce homelessness
Officials highlighted several housing developments and programs to address the growing number of unhoused residents.
To announce the results of the point-in-time count, the mayor and officials gathered for a roundtable discussion at Homekey at 1725, the city’s newly refurbished interim housing facility on Long Beach Boulevard near Pacific Coast Highway.
Homekey at 1725 recently reopened after its $16.7 million remodeling and provides 99 interim housing units and support services at the site of a former Best Western motel. The nonprofit First to Serve operates the facility.
Other temporary housing projects in the works include:
- “Youth Shelter and Navigation Center: Designed for young adults aged 18 to 24, this center will offer 12 year-round beds along with supportive services such as case management, restroom and shower facilities, laundry, a kitchenette and a lounge area,” according to a city statement. “The $4.1 million renovation is funded by Measure A, California’s AB32 Global Warming Solutions Act, and the Homeless Emergency Aid Program. This facility broke ground in January 2024 and is expected to open this summer.
- “Homekey at 5950: This facility is transforming the former Luxury Inn motel into 78 interim housing units, 12 of which will be ADA-accessible. Supported by $6.5 million in funding from the State’s Project Homekey Program, the City’s General Fund, and Measure A, the project intends to provide stable and supportive spaces for people experiencing homelessness. This facility is expected to open later this summer.”
Earlier this year Long Beach received $11 million from the state for efforts to address homelessness along the Los Angeles Riverbed.
“This funding will assist the 164 people identified in the 2025 count as living in the area,” according to the city, which plans to use the grant to move people into shelters that have private space for residents and ultimately permanent housing, increase outreach and engagement efforts and open new shelters and provide supportive services to help people transition into stable housing.
The Long Beach Community Development Department has recently overseen the opening of The Cove, which offers 60 project-based federal housing vouchers for veterans and the groundbreaking of 300 Alamitos, an 82-unit affordable housing complex for low-income seniors, including those who have experienced homelessness.
Data gathered annually in point-in-time counts is used to determine federal funding to address homelessness at the local level.
The 2025 homeless count report is online on the city’s website.
