The State of Los Angeles County Housing and Neighborhoods (SOLACHAN) is a comprehensive, data-driven examination of the region’s housing and demographic landscape. This inaugural report from Neighborhood Data for Social Change (NDSC), an initiative of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, provides a nuanced look at key indicators of housing access, affordability, and inequality across Los Angeles County. The analyses highlight the longstanding structural challenges underlying the county’s housing crisis and the recent shifts that are intensifying them. Overall, the report underscores the need for bold solutions, implemented through cross-jurisdictional and cross-sectoral partnerships.
Key Findings
Population Characteristics: Fewer Immigrants and Families
Los Angeles County’s rapid population growth in the late 20th century was fueled by newly arrived immigrants, but that trend has reversed. Since 2015, the county’s total population has declined by over 500,000 people (5%), including a loss of 280,000 (8%) foreign-born residents. Over the last decade, the share of families with children in Los Angeles County has dropped from about one-third of households in 2010—well above the national average—to just one-quarter in 2023, now below the national average.
Meanwhile, the number of households has continued to grow since 2010, fueling housing demand despite population loss. As housing costs soar, population shifts indicate that Los Angeles is losing its long-standing role as a place where immigrants and new families can afford to build a life.
Housing Supply: Too Little, Too Slowly
Housing production in Los Angeles County has slowed dramatically over the decades, dropping from over 70,000 new units annually in the 1950s to roughly 30,000 in the 1970s and 1980s to less than 15,000 in the 2010s. This long-term slowdown in housing construction has left the region with an older, more strained housing stock and a deep shortfall in affordable options.
Between 2018 and 2024, just under 152,000 new units were certified for occupancy across Los Angeles County. The vast majority of these were rental units, only 10% of which were affordable to lower income households. Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) have driven recent production increases, but they remain largely unaffordable to low-income renters.
In 2024, 62% of new units were located in the City of Los Angeles—down from 81% in 2018—signaling some progress among the county’s other jurisdictions, but not nearly enough to meet the region’s state mandated housing goals. Permitting-to-occupancy timelines in the City of Los Angeles average 18 months—nearly three times the national average—with multifamily (5+ units) projects taking as long as 35 months to complete.
Federally and state-subsidized properties make up just 6% of LA County’s rental stock—far lower than peer metros like New York. These properties are disproportionately located in lower-income neighborhoods. Most subsidized units rely on complex “layer cake” funding, with over 30% of Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties also using at least one other subsidy.
Homeowners: Falling Rates and Widening Gaps
Homeownership in Los Angeles County has dropped to 45%—its lowest level in over 50 years. The average cost of homeownership in the county far outpaces what most households earn: median home values exceed incomes by more than 10 to 1 compared to just 4 to 1 nationally. Homeowners’ efforts to avoid steep increases in property taxes, which were capped under Proposition 13, may be a key contributing factor to this unaffordability: almost half of LA County homeowners have lived in the same home for more than 20 years, leading to less turnover of the existing supply.
The steepest declines in Los Angeles County’s homeownership rate have taken place over the past decade. Since 2010, homeownership rates have fallen across all income groups, but middle-income ($50,000 – $150,000) households have experienced the sharpest declines.
At the same time, homeownership among Black households in Los Angeles County has declined more than any other racial or ethnic group—a trend not mirrored at the state or national level, where Black homeownership rates have begun to recover from the impacts of the Great Recession. These losses have deepened long-standing racial disparities in LA County and reflect growing barriers to entry for communities that have historically been excluded from wealth-building through homeownership.
Although most demographic groups saw homeownership rate declines, Asian/Pacific Islander households stood out as a key exception—having experienced a rise in homeownership rates from 50% in 2010 to 56% in 2023.
Renters: Persistent Burdens and Changing Demographics
Across the nation, rental unaffordability is reaching record highs, and Los Angeles County stands out as one of the least affordable markets. Renter incomes have finally outpaced rent growth over the past decade—a reversal of decades-long trends—but affordability remains out of reach for many. Over 90% of the county’s 734,000 renter households earning under $50,000 spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities.
While cost burdens have eased for some—particularly Hispanic/Latino renters—they remain stubbornly high for Black renters, two-thirds of whom were rent burdened in 2023. Older adult renters are a growing segment of the rental market, and the vast majority of them face high housing cost burdens.
At the same time, the rental market is shifting. Households earning more than $150,000 now make up 15% of renters – nearly double their share from just over a decade ago – reshaping the rental market without alleviating cost pressures at the bottom.
Houseless Angelenos: Rising Need Outpacing Expanded Capacity
Between 2017 and 2024, the number of permanent housing beds available for people experiencing homelessness across Los Angeles County has increased by 57%, including 8,500 new Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) beds and 6,600 new Rapid Rehousing (RRH) beds.
Despite these investments, homelessness has been steadily rising in Los Angeles for over a decade, particularly among those who are unsheltered. This trend, however, has recently reversed – likely due to increased shelter availability and encampment resolution efforts. As of 2025, 66% of people experiencing homelessness in the Los Angeles Continuum of Care (CoC) are unsheltered, a ten-year low, but still the highest percentage in the country.
Black residents remain overrepresented among Los Angeles County’s unhoused population, and the number of Hispanic/Latino people experiencing homelessness has risen since the COVID-19 pandemic – a trend consistent with national patterns.
Unhoused people in Los Angeles County experience longer durations of homelessness spells compared to unhoused people in other metropolitan areas. The vast majority of unhoused Angelenos lived in Los Angeles County before they fell into homelessness, underscoring the deep connection between the region’s housing affordability and homelessness crises.
Featured Chapter
Each year, SOLACHAN will feature a special chapter on a distinct aspect of Los Angeles County’s housing landscape. This year’s chapter examines which neighborhoods are more likely to see their current residents shift between renting and owning. It reveals where in the county these transitions are most likely to occur, lays out the neighborhood factors that influence them, and categorizes communities based on their overall stability or potential for change.
Conclusion
Los Angeles County stands at a pivotal moment. The region’s housing and homelessness crises reflect decades of underproduction, restrictive policies, racial inequity, and economic exclusion. While targeted policies and new investments have begun to move the needle, the scale of the challenge remains enormous.
Recent developments offer meaningful opportunities to chart a new course. The passage of Measure A in 2024 established a permanent source of local funding to build deeply affordable and supportive housing—expanding on the foundation laid by Measure H and helping to fill critical gaps left by inconsistent federal support. At the same time, the launch of the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA) creates new potential for coordinated, cross-jurisdictional solutions. Together, these efforts offer a path toward a more unified, sustained, and equitable approach to housing affordability and homelessness in the region.
SOLACHAN aims to support cross-sector leaders in meeting this moment with actionable data and shared accountability. Together, we can move toward a future where all Angelenos—regardless of income, race, or neighborhood—have a stable place to call home.
