Massachusetts has ranked among the worst states in the country for homelessness, according to federal data.
Massachusetts had the fifth-largest homeless population in the country as of January 2024, when the last official count was conducted, according to a new list compiled by Visual Capitalist using data from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development. Visual Capitalist is a website that uses data visualization to try to make information easier to understand.
The count found 771,000 homeless people across the country as of last January. Visual Capitalist noted the totals can be off because the local groups conducting the counts use different methods, which can “undercount unsheltered populations, people couch‑surfing, or those avoiding contact.”
Massachusetts’ homeless population was about 29,000 people, according to the data, out of a state population of about 7.1 million people.
More populous states such as Texas and Illinois ranked lower than Massachusetts, coming in at 6 and 7, respectively.
California topped the list with a homeless population of 187,000 and accounts for about a quarter of the national homeless population, Visual Capitalist reported. New York followed closely with a homeless population of 158,000.
Homelessness continues to be a widespread issue across Massachusetts, including in its capital city.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu recently announced a $200,000 grant to expand the Coordinated Response Team in that city, whose role is to prevent outdoor encampments and regulate public drug usage.
The grant came nearly two years after the city cleared an encampment on Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard.
Despite the dispersal, some Boston residents say the people who used to live in that encampment have relocated to other areas of the city.
President of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program Dr. Jim O’Connell recently told MassLive that Boston’s homeless population “has been one of the toughest things I’ve seen.”