We still have a big homeless population, but if you were here in 2020, you know it looked like a zombie movie. Now the city looks way cleaner, and there are fewer people on the streets.
Where did they go?
San Francisco's homeless population has remained stable over the past 7 years: more or less 8k people.
In 2019, only 35% of the homeless in SF slept in shelters. By 2026, 57% of homeless people were sheltered.
In 2019, the police arrested 181 people for "illegal lodging": tents. During the pandemic and after, the police couldn't stop them.
The Supreme Court in 2024 let cities punish "camping on public land", which increased arrests and removed homeless tent camps.
1k homeless lived in cars and RVs by 2021.
The city implemented a 2h parking limit for RVs in 2025, which halved their presence. This year, it fell to 315 "lived-in vehicles."
First-time homelessness in SF is actually getting worse.
In 2020, 807 people became homeless for the 1st time. In 2024, it was 6.6k people!!
However, every year, more and more people are getting supportive housing. Almost 2k in 2024 🎉
Over the past 2 years, almost 1k fewer people are sleeping on the streets.
That's what happened to SF's homeless people. The city got better at helping them get shelter and housing, while punishing the behaviors that encouraged them to remain on the streets.
Data sources, details and more charts at:
https://hanademi.com/explain/homelessness/