Los Angeles county is home to more than 69,000 unhoused people, count finds

Number marks 4% increase since last count, in January 2020, but is believed to be an undercount

Los Angeles has experienced a 4% increase in its homeless population during the pandemic, with 69,144 unhoused people counted across the county this year, according to government data released on Thursday.

The Los Angeles homeless services authority (Lahsa), which conducted the count in February 2022 after skipping a year during the pandemic, said the growth of the unhoused population had slowed in the last two years, in part due to pandemic programs and funding. The previous count, conducted in January 2020, showed a 13% jump from 2019.