Rents over the last two decades have risen much faster than employee pay, contributing to an escalating homelessness crisis in the U.S.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/11260607

A growing number of Americans are ending up homeless as soaring rents in recent years squeeze their budgets.

According to a Jan. 25 report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, roughly 653,000 people reported experiencing homelessness in January of 2023, up roughly 12% from the same time a year prior and 48% from 2015. That marks the largest single-year increase in the country’s unhoused population on record, Harvard researchers said.

  • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
    151·
    10 months ago

    Probably the newest data available. There’s no way that the trend has reversed rather than sped up since then.

    • P1r4nha@feddit.de
      51·
      10 months ago

      At least inflation rate went down, but with ever increasing rental cost the picture probably doesn’t look much better.

      EDIT: Added “rate” to avoid any confusion that I may suggest there’s deflation.

      • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
        5·
        10 months ago

        Inflation didn’t even go down, it’s just increasing at a slower rate. Things are still getting more expensive compared to how much money people have available.

        That might be what you meant, but just wanted to make it crystal clear…

        • P1r4nha@feddit.de
          3·
          10 months ago

          Right… usually people talk about the inflation rate, not the overall devaluation of the currency. I wasn’t trying to suggestion there’s a deflation with the dollar.