How Much Has California Spent on Homelessness: $24B and What It Bought

California spent roughly $24 billion on homelessness and housing programs over the five fiscal years from 2018–19 through 2022–23, spread across more than 30 programs run by nine state agencies, according to figures from the Legislative Analyst’s Office cited in a state audit.¹ The State Auditor concluded in April 2024 that California lacked reliable data to determine whether most of that money actually reduced homelessness.

What the $24 Billion Bought, and When

The total covers state-funded work between fiscal years 2018–19 and 2022–23: direct grants to local governments, capital investments in housing, emergency pandemic shelter, rental assistance, and mental health and substance use services for people without stable housing. The General Fund supplied the majority, supplemented by federal pandemic relief and bond proceeds.

Spending was heavily front-loaded during the pandemic-era budget surpluses. At the 2021–22 peak, California set aside roughly $7.2 billion for homelessness in a single year, which worked out to about $42,000 per person counted as homeless. Annual funding then dropped: about $6.9 billion in 2022–23, roughly $2.5 billion in 2024–25, and approximately $1.5 billion in 2025–26 as the state confronted large deficits.

For scale, California’s 2024 point-in-time count identified 187,084 people experiencing homelessness on a single night, roughly 28 percent of the entire U.S. homeless population.²

Where the Money Went

Dozens of programs shared the $24 billion, but a handful account for most of it.

Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program

HHAP is the state’s flagship grant program for local governments. Across six funding rounds, the Legislature has appropriated roughly $5.1 billion cumulatively.³ Round 6 made $760 million available to regional coalitions of cities, counties, and Continuums of Care.⁴ Local jurisdictions use HHAP dollars for emergency shelters, rapid rehousing, street outreach, and rental assistance.

Project Homekey

Launched in summer 2020, Homekey let local governments buy and convert motels, hotels, and other underused buildings into permanent housing. The program awarded more than $3.8 billion and has funded over 15,000 units. Its first round drew heavily on federal Coronavirus Relief Funds; later rounds relied on state General Fund dollars.

Homekey was one of only two programs the State Auditor could confirm as cost-effective. The average Homekey unit cost about $144,000, compared with $380,000 to $570,000 for a newly built affordable housing unit in California.¹

Project Roomkey

Roomkey was the emergency response at the onset of COVID-19. Overseen by the California Department of Social Services, it placed people experiencing homelessness in hotel and motel rooms and trailers to reduce virus exposure in congregate shelters. State and local governments received up to 75 percent reimbursement from FEMA for rooms, meals, security, and other services.⁵ The initial state appropriation was $150 million, with total costs rising as reimbursements and local contributions were added. Roomkey wound down as the pandemic emergency ended.

Encampment Resolution Funding

The Encampment Resolution Funding Program helps local governments clear encampments while connecting residents to shelter and services. The Governor’s 2026–27 budget identifies roughly $1 billion appropriated for encampment resolution efforts.⁶ The 2025–26 budget added another $100 million for a fifth round.⁷ The State Auditor could not assess whether this spending was cost-effective because the state had not collected enough outcome data.¹

What the Spending Has Achieved

The State Auditor’s April 2024 report reached an uncomfortable conclusion: California does not have the data to know whether most of this spending worked.¹ Of five major programs the auditor reviewed, only two could be evaluated for cost-effectiveness: Homekey and the CalWORKs Housing Support Program. For the other three, including HHAP, the state had not collected sufficient outcome data.

The available numbers are mixed. In 2022, nearly 316,000 people experiencing homelessness accessed housing and services through California’s 44 Continuums of Care. Outcomes depended heavily on placement type. Among people who exited permanent housing placements, 84 percent moved into other permanent housing. Among people who exited interim housing like emergency shelters, only 13 percent moved into permanent housing, and 44 percent returned to homelessness.¹

There is one recent positive signal. Data from 30 Continuums of Care reporting 2025 numbers showed a 9 percent drop in unsheltered homelessness, bucking the national trend.⁸ The figure covers unsheltered homelessness specifically, not the total count, and it comes from a subset of reporting communities rather than the entire state.

Why the Results Are So Hard to Measure

The auditor found a fundamental gap in oversight. The California Interagency Council on Homelessness reported financial data covering fiscal years 2018–19 through 2020–21, then stopped tracking and reporting spending even as billions more went out the door.¹ The state also lacked a consistent method for gathering cost and outcome information across individual programs.

California relies on the Homeless Data Integration System, which compiles information from all 44 Continuums of Care into a statewide database and tracks entries into shelter, exits to permanent housing, and returns to homelessness.⁹ The auditor found that Cal ICH had not ensured the accuracy of the data in the system or used it to evaluate program success.

The state has moved to tighten accountability since the audit. Under new rules, local jurisdictions must meet several conditions to receive future homelessness funding: a compliant housing element in their general plan, spending down of prior awards before receiving new money, and demonstrated progress on resolving encampments. The Governor has also proposed clawback mechanisms to recover funding from local governments that fail to show results, and future allocations will prioritize communities designated as “pro-housing.”¹⁰

The Funding Outlook

California’s homelessness spending is on a steep downward trajectory. The surpluses that fueled the $24 billion investment have given way to deficits, and annual funding has fallen from roughly $6.9 billion at its peak to about $1.5 billion in 2025–26. The proposed 2026–27 budget includes $500 million for HHAP Round 7, half the level of recent rounds.⁷

With 187,084 people counted as homeless in 2024 and annual state spending down more than 75 percent from its peak, local governments face the challenge of doing far more with far less, under stricter accountability rules than governed the original $24 billion.²

1
California State Auditor. Homelessness in California – The State Must Do More to Assess the Cost-Effectiveness of Its Homelessness Programs
2
California State Senate. Fact Sheet – Homelessness in California January 2025
3
Legislative Analyst’s Office. Overview of HHAP Funding and Accountability
4
California Department of Housing and Community Development. HHAP Round 6 Notice of Funding Availability
5
California State Senate. Project Roomkey and Project Homekey – Updated May 2024
6
California Department of Finance. Governor’s Budget Summary 2026-27 – Housing and Homelessness
7
Legislative Analyst’s Office. The 2025-26 California Spending Plan – Housing, Homelessness and Local Government
8
Governor of California. California Sees Drop in Unsheltered Homelessness
9
California Interagency Council on Homelessness. Homeless Data Integration System
10
Governor of California. Governor Newsom Announces Stronger Accountability Measures