The Department of Housing and Urban Development said recently that homelessness rose 0.7 percent in 2017, meaning that roughly 553,742 people were homeless at least one night during the year.
HUD explained further that homelessness actually declined “in most communities of the U.S. with increases reported in high-cost areas.” MarketWatch's analysis shows that the most cost-burdened metros are almost all in California, Florida, and the Northeast. The most cost-burdened residents on the list are in Miami at 62.5 percent, while residents of California's metros are between 53.6 and 60.5 percent cost-burdened.
HUD officials say they understand the situation. “With rents rising faster than incomes, we need to bring everybody to the table to produce more affordable housing and ease the pressure that is forcing too many of our neighbors into our shelters and onto our streets,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson in a statement. “This is not a federal problem–it’s everybody’s problem.”
