Understanding Homelessness in Louisiana
While homelessness* in Louisiana looks different from parish to parish, our statewide data coalition brings together information from multiple sources to better understand housing instability, identify trends, and guide solutions.
The graphs and maps below summarize key indicators — from the number of people experiencing homelessness to the availability of affordable housing. Data sources include:
Economic & Housing Affordability Data
Regional reports from Continuums of Care (CoCs) across Louisiana
We also interrogate our own systems in order to fully understand our opportunities for improvement and develop better strategies to ensure that every Louisianan has access to safe, affordable, and stable housing. In addition to fulfilling this reporting requirement to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), we undergo this process transparently and welcome you to view our system performance measures by clicking here.
* For HUD, "homeless" under the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) generally means a person lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes those living in a place not meant for habitation, an emergency shelter, or exiting an institution after a short stay. The definition is detailed in four categories, with the primary one including the "literally homeless" who have no home or a temporary one like a shelter. The definition also includes those "imminently" at risk of losing their home, those fleeing domestic violence, and those considered homeless under other federal statutes.
What does homelessness look like over time?
Each January, communities across the U.S. conduct the Point-in-Time (PIT) Count — a HUD-required snapshot of homelessness on a single night. While it doesn’t capture everyone experiencing homelessness, it helps track trends and identify shifts in shelter and unsheltered populations.
The total number of people experiencing homelessness in Louisiana has remained relatively stable over the past five years, though unsheltered homelessness has become more visible in many parishes. Some of this increase reflects reduced shelter capacity and stronger street outreach coverage rather than a true rise in overall numbers.
Louisiana has the second to lowest homelessness rate across the nation, with approximately 75 of every 100,000 residents experiencing homelessness on any given night.
PIT Count Totals, 2020-2025
Who is most affected?
Homelessness affects people of all ages, but the risks are not distributed evenly. Race, income, gender identity, and family composition all shape who becomes homeless — and who can access housing again.
By Household Type, 2024
By Race/Ethnicity, 2024
In Louisiana, families make up approximately 17.5% of the homeless population, while individuals account for 82.4%. Black and Indigenous residents remain overrepresented compared to their share of the general population, reflecting long-term racial disparities in housing access and income.
According to HUD, “chronic homelessness” describes an individual or family experiencing homelessness with a disabling condition. Key criteria include being homeless for at least 12 months, or for four or more separate occasions within the last three years, while having a long-term disability that significantly impedes the ability to live independently. This can include a serious mental illness, substance use disorder, developmental disability, cognitive impairment, or chronic physical illness.
During the annual Point in Time count, “unaccompanied youth” are individuals 25 years of age or younger who are not in the physical care of a parent or guardian and lack a fixed, regular, or adequate nighttime residence.
How much shelter and housing is being resourced and utilized?
The Housing Inventory Count (HIC) tracks how many beds and units are being resourced in shelters, transitional housing, and permanent housing programs across the state, and how many were occupied on a specific given night.
Rapid Rehousing (RRH) is a homelessness assistance strategy that quickly moves people from homelessness into permanent housing by providing short-to-medium term rental assistance (like security deposits, first month's rent, and temporary rent subsidies) plus case management and supportive services (like budgeting, job help, and landlord mediation) to help them stay housed and become self-sufficient. The goal is to get individuals and families into stable housing fast, minimizing their time in shelters, with a focus on housing stability and independence.
Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) offers long-term, affordable housing combined with voluntary, flexible support services for people experiencing chronic homelessness or with disabilities, providing stability through a real lease (like paying under 30% of income for rent) and wraparound care like case management, mental health, or substance abuse support, helping them live independently in the community, unlike temporary shelters.
Temporary Beds, 2024
Permanent Beds, 2024
Louisiana’s shelter and housing capacity fluctuates each year as programs open or close and funding shifts. The largest gains have been in permanent supportive housing (PSH), while emergency shelter beds have declined in most urban areas, creating challenges during extreme weather events. In some areas of Louisiana, only one emergency shelter bed is available for every two people people experiencing homelessness.
Where are people sleeping?
Understanding where people spend the night is key to shaping an effective response. Unsheltered homelessness often rises when housing and shelter capacity can’t meet need.
Roughly 55% of people counted were staying in shelters, while 45% were unsheltered. Rural parishes often see higher unsheltered rates due to limited shelter infrastructure.
Sheltered v Unsheltered, 2024
Why are people losing housing?
Many households in Louisiana are just one unexpected expense away from losing their home. Reports like ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) , the Out of Reach, and the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s Housing Needs by State illustrate the affordability gap facing working families statewide.
In 2025, a Louisiana worker must earn roughly $19.11 per hour to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment — far above the minimum wage of $7.25. The ALICE report shows that nearly 50% of Louisiana households earn less than the income needed to cover basic survival costs. The NLIHC’s Housing Profile for Louisiana helps to illustrate the rental housing crisis here at home.
Fair Market Rents in Lousiana, 2025
The broader picture of housing instability.
Homelessness is one outcome of a much larger housing and economic system. To understand prevention, we also look at factors like rent burden, cost of living, and poverty rates.
Most Expensive Areas in Louisiana by Housing Wage, 2024
A housing wage is the hourly pay a full-time worker needs to afford a modest rental home (like a one or two-bedroom) without spending more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities, a standard benchmark for affordability, according to organizations like the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). It highlights the gap between what low-wage earners make and what it actually costs to rent a decent home, often showing that minimum wage isn't enough to cover housing costs. In some parishes, more than half of all renters are considered severely cost-burdened - spending over 50% of their income on housing. This leaves little for food, transportation, or medical care, and increases the risk of eviction and homelessness.
MSA = Metropolitan Statistical Area, HMFA= HUD Metro FMR Area
How does all of this vary across Louisiana?
Louisiana’s homelessness response system is divided into regional Continuums of Care (CoCs). Each region faces distinct challenges — from housing shortages to transportation barriers to natural disaster recovery. Please hover and/or click on any parish to learn about regional data such as populations, lead agencies, and recent Point in Time Count information.
For example, the LA-500 (Acadiana, yellow) region has seen an increase in unsheltered individuals due to reduced shelter beds, while LA-503 (New Orleans, olive) continues to face high rental costs and concentrated urban homelessness. To view a breakdown of state-level aggregrate data by Continuum of Care, please click here for Point In Time and Housing Inventory Count raw data, and click here for state-wide System Performance Measures.
No single dataset can capture the full experience of homelessness. Some individuals and families remain uncounted due to hidden homelessness, mobility, or differences in data reporting. The coalition continues to work toward more accurate, inclusive data collection across all parishes.