Nearly 300,000 California K-12 students experienced homelessness during the 2024-2025 school year, the highest number ever recorded, a new study found.
The most recent annual total, analyzed by the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools, is not only 4% higher than last year's record-setting number but 10% higher than during the 2018-2019 school year. The staggering number is enough to fill Dodger Stadium more than five times, the report points out. Study author Grace Kim called the number "alarming."
"It's a pretty big stadium, and if you're able to fill that more than five times, then that's a really big number," she said.
It's also equivalent to more than a third of San Francisco's total population.
Though the count varies widely throughout the state, the highest numbers from the staggering study appear consistently along the state's coastline.
The Central Coast had the most districts with the highest proportion of students experiencing homelessness, with four of the top 10 in Monterey County. At Salinas City Elementary in Monterey County, 3,681 students were homeless in the last school year, reaching 42.6%. That's 2 out of every 5 students.
Monterey County overall had 17.5% of students experiencing homelessness during that time period.
Districts in San Mateo County and Mendocino County also had some of the highest percentages of students experiencing homelessness, with more than 38% of students at Round Valley Unified in Mendocino and more than 31% at Ravenswood City Elementary in San Mateo affected.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest district in the state, unsurprisingly had the highest total number of students experiencing homelessness at 21,298 - 4% of the district.
At San Francisco Unified, 7% of enrolled students experienced homelessness, the eighth-highest district count statewide.
While the recorded figures are already eye-opening, they're also likely an undercount. The numbers were calculated using California Department of Education data, which records homelessness as those lacking a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence. These students may be unsheltered, or they may be living in vehicles, in shelters, or with other families or friends in a temporary situation. Reporting that instability can come with a stigma, and those in increasingly fluid situations may not be counted at all.
Outcomes for students experiencing homelessness are predictably worse. They are less likely to meet academic standards, have greater absenteeism, are less prepared to go to college and are suspended at higher rates than their housed counterparts. For example, 34.9% of students experiencing homelessness were chronically absent, compared with 18.6% of housed students.
The most recent school year in which the number decreased was 2021-2022, but because schools were frequently closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the data is likely less reliable. Since then, the numbers have risen steadily.
Racial disparities abound in the report, with more than 8% of American Indian/Alaska Native students and Black students experiencing homelessness. The numbers aren't much lower for Pacific Islander students at 6.9% and Latino students at 6.6%. Just 2.2% of white students and 1.59% of Asian students experienced homelessness.
The report presents several recommendations for reducing the overall number, including allocating the $116 million state fund dedicated to supporting these students based on need. Kim said she hopes that even small tweaks to better support these students can make a dent in the numbers.
But without tackling the larger issue of housing instability, Kim said, California is unlikely to see these numbers greatly decline. The new fund, approved by lawmakers this year, is "a Band-Aid without actually treating the wound itself," she said.
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This article originally published at California student homelessness hits record high. It may be an undercount..