Students Experiencing Homelessness
About the Project
How many K-12 students are experiencing homelessness in California today?
Nearly 300,000. That’s enough young people to fill Dodger Stadium more than five times over. Black and American Indian/Alaska Native students are impacted at the highest rates.
Our work examines the scale and patterns of student homelessness across California and the Southwest, including tracking trends over time, surfacing geographic and demographic disparities, and understanding how homelessness impacts academic outcomes and school engagement. Through data analyses and interviews with stakeholders, we assess both the challenges these students face and how well our current systems are recognizing and responding to their needs.
Our goal is to provide guidance for policymakers, administrators, educators, and homeless liaisons on effective strategies for identifying vulnerable students, targeting interventions, tracking progress, and measuring success locally and statewide.
Explore our newest research in State of Crisis 2026: A Deepening Crisis of Students Experiencing Homelessness Across California.
Publications
State of Crisis: A Deepening Crisis of Students Experiencing Homelessness Across California
Nearly 300,000 California K-12 students experienced homelessness in the 2024-25 school year, a new statewide high and a 10% increase from before the pandemic. Our 2026 analysis highlights the top 10 districts and counties with students experiencing homelessness, pinpointing ideal focus areas for the state. This update to our 2020 State of Crisis report examines what has changed since 2020, which student groups are most impacted, and what the data now demands from California’s leaders and student-serving systems.
Hidden in Plain Sight: Fear, Underidentification, and Funding Gaps for Housing-Insecure Students in Los Angeles County
We spoke with school- and county-based homeless liaisons to help examine how stigma, fear, and fragmented systems contribute to the underidentification of students experiencing homelessness. Findings highlight persistent gaps between policy and practice, with more than 61K students in Los Angeles County identified as experiencing homelessness in the 2023–24 school year.
Rising Numbers, Fading Resources: Students Experiencing Homelessness in Los Angeles County
Using statewide and district-level data, this brief analyzes rising rates of student homelessness by outlining trends in student demographics, attendance, and academic outcomes. Findings present disparities across student groups and growing challenges for districts as needs increase and resources decline.
1.37 Million and Rising: Understanding the National 25% Spike in Student Homelessness
This brief examines a 25% nationwide surge in student homelessness affecting nearly 1.4 million youth. We suggest urgent policy solutions to address racial inequities, root causes, and gaps in federal support. It expands on our California-focused research to highlight national trends and actionable strategies.
No Shame or Stigmas: Prioritizing Students Experiencing Homelessness in Long Beach Unified and Monterey County
This brief highlights state and school officials’ perspective to examine relevant challenges, policies, and practices related to the youth homelessness crisis. In addition to identifying pertinent challenges, participants provided insights into established and emerging practices and approaches that have been effective in meeting the needs of homeless youth.
State of Crisis: Dismantling Student Homelessness in CA
We interviewed 150 stakeholders from across the state to develop a clear picture of the underlying challenges facing students experiencing homelessness, and patterns and geographic needs across the state.
State of Crisis: Understanding District Educational Patterns for CA Students Experiencing Homelessness
This policy brief builds upon our 2020 analysis of student homelessness statewide to examine district-level data for 10 districts across the state.
Interactive County Map of CA Students Experiencing Homelessness
This interactive map on student homelessness in K-12 schools in California shines a light on the staggering number of young people impacted by housing instability across all 58 counties during the 2018-2019 and 2017-2018 academic years. Over 269,000 students are homeless in California, number that will likely increase as a result of job instability and unemployment related to the virus and is higher than any other state in the country. COVID-19 has the potential to exacerbate pre-existing inequities apparent by race and income.
The map captures county profiles, with data disaggregated by race and ethnicity. Patterns in state data show the relationship between student homelessness and key school climate and academic readiness indicators including: suspension rates, chronic absenteeism rates, graduation rates and students who graduate UC/CSU eligible.
Related Work
