California reported one of the largest decreases in homelessness over the past year, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The data from HUD comes from a federally mandated point-in-time count. Nationwide, more than 745,000 people were reported homeless; a 3.3% drop from the year prior and the first improvement since 2016.

California recorded a total unhoused population of 181,934 in 2025 – an almost 3% decrease since the year prior.

Last month, San Diego’s Regional Task Force on Homelessness released its own point-in-time count. The count, conducted in January, documented 5,108 people living unsheltered in the county—an 11% drop from last year.

The data also shows a shift in demographics. Adults 55 and up now comprise 33% of the unsheltered population in San Diego County, up from 29% the year prior.

Drew Moser, the CEO of Lucky Duck Foundation, a local non-profit focused on ending homelessness, told CBS 8 that this new data from HUD is, at least, a step in the right direction. However, he said, it might not paint the most accurate picture of California’s or San Diego County’s homelessness crisis.

“Year over year, San Diego took a step in the right direction. But it’s also important to note that the point-in-time count; it’s just one snapshot, one day in the life, one day over a 12 month-span. And when you look at the past two, three, or four years, homelessness continues to increase.”

He doesn’t feel the data is anything to celebrate.

“If you go back several years, you have to keep that in mind: What are we actually comparing here? Did we go from being down 25 points in a basketball game to now we’re down 23? Or did we cut the lead from 5 points to 3 points? It’s more like we’re losing by about 30 points here, and maybe now we’re trailing by 28,” Moser said.

Different sources CBS 8 looked into attributed the decrease in the national homeless population to a range of politicians and policies: the Trump administration pointed to its crackdown on immigration and efforts to direct funding away from permanent housing, while the National Homelessness Law Center suggests Biden-era policies helped fund housing programs.

For California, other sources point to Governor Gavin Newsom’s moves to crack down on homelessness, as well as $3.3 billion in voter-approved funding to increase housing and drug treatment programs.

“I don’t have a very educated response for you on who to credit or who to blame. Other than, we are laser focused on those immediate pathways off the streets, that are quick, that are cost effective, but that also help people address what’s going on in here [the heart] and in here [the head],” Moser said.

California, along with New York, had the largest population of unsheltered people recorded in 2025.