Explore how unsheltered homelessness has increased in San Diego County

Homelessness has become more visible than ever before in San Diego.

The latest census revealed nearly 6,800 unhoused residents live in the city — the most in the past decade. More than half are unsheltered, which includes everyone who sleeps in a vehicle to those who bed down on sidewalks or riverbanks.

But the numbers also reveal a regional problem. While San Diego contains the majority of unsheltered residents in the region, nearly every community across the county has seen an increase in the past two years.

Some saw triple-digit spikes. Officials counted just over 500 unsheltered residents in Chula Vista, totaling a 144% increase. The city of Lemon Grove saw a 258% increase — this year’s count was 111 unsheltered residents, up from 31 just two years ago.

The results of January’s point-in-time count — widely agreed to be an undercount of unhoused residents — highlight the region’s continued struggle to stem the flow of people becoming homeless for the first time in the middle of a housing crisis. Every month for the past two years, more people in San Diego County have lost housing than those who manage to find it.

It also reflects the end of pandemic-era funding, including programs for hotel vouchers, and a shift toward city-sanctioned campsites and parking lots, which are still considered unsheltered homelessness.

Part of the increase in homelessness can also be attributed to more accurate counts. The Regional Task Force on Homelessness, which is responsible for conducting the federally required annual count, struck an agreement last year that allowed officials to count people living in encampments on property owned by the California Department of Transportation. That led to an additional 661 people across the region last year.

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