Contra Costa County reports 26% drop in homelessness

Contra Costa County reported a 26% decline in homelessness from 2024, a remarkable drop, especially as most other parts of the Bay Area have seen steep increases in recent years.

The county’s estimated homeless population fell to 2,118, about 700 fewer people than last year, according to the results of its latest “point-in-time” count released this week.

The count, taken in January, is a federally mandated census that helps determine public funding for local homelessness programs and provides a snapshot of how many people are living in encampments, vehicles and shelters.

Officials attributed the striking decline to county efforts to expand rental assistance, as well as a 34% increase in the number of shelter beds and supportive housing placements available since 2023.

“Not saying we’ve solved homelessness, but we have seen a significant decrease,” Christy Saxton, director of the county health department, told the Board of Supervisors last week.

Despite the encouraging results, six in 10 homeless people in the county still lack a shelter bed, according to the count. However, with the addition of around 900 temporary shelter beds and permanent homeless housing units over the last two years, the number of unsheltered residents fell by 35% to 1,278.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, Santa Clara County — home to the region’s largest urban center, San Jose — last month reported an 8% increase in its homeless population, reaching a record 10,711 people.

The county attributed the rise to an increase in shelter capacity, which made it easier to identify homeless residents during its count. Local officials stress that point-in-time counts are only estimates and acknowledge it can be challenging to pinpoint the number of people living in encampments or vehicles.

Homelessness also increased across most of the Bay Area, according to counts taken in 2024. That includes a 15% rise in San Mateo County and a 10% increase in San Francisco. The number of homeless residents declined 3% in Alameda County, but its largest city, Oakland, saw a 9% increase.

Over the past decade, the nine-county Bay Area’s total homeless population has soared 44% to more than 38,000, despite unprecedented billions of dollars spent to bring people off the streets, stoking growing public frustration over the crisis.

In Contra Costa County, the drop in the homeless population followed a 15% spike the previous year. Dating back to 2015, the local unhoused population is up about 4%.

The latest count also found the unsheltered population fell in most cities across the county. Antioch, the local city with the most unsheltered people in 2024, saw that population decline from 413 to 236 this year. Richmond’s unsheltered population dropped from 388 to 208. Concord’s population dipped from 173 to 131.

As in the rest of the Bay Area, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized groups are overrepresented in the county’s unhoused population, according to the count. It found 34% of homeless residents are Black, despite that racial group making up only 9% of the county’s total population. About 36% of local unhoused people are White, 14% are Latino, 6% are multiracial, 5% are Native American and 5% are other races.

At last week’s board meeting, Saxton warned the county’s progress on homelessness could be short-lived, pointing to impending state and federal funding cuts.

Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new state budget that allocated only half the amount set aside last year to help local governments combat homelessness. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has proposed massive cuts to homelessness programs and housing vouchers for low-income renters, though any potential reductions were still being determined as lawmakers scrambled to finalize a federal budget by the Fourth of July weekend.

“We’re really concerned,” Saxton said.