The homeless population in Pasadena fell slightly in 2024, but the number of newly unhoused was on the rise, according to the results of the city’s annual count. All told, the results offered troubling patterns in the wake of the Eaton fire, which displaced thousands.

Pasadena has two homeless counts — one that is a census for the calendar year 2024 (the 2024 Annual Count), and the other is a “Point In Time Count,” which counts the number of people experiencing homeless on each of two nights — a “snap shot.”

In the 2024 Annual Count, the city pulls data from a database that lays out results for all people served by local service providers.

That report found a 5% decrease compared to a year ago. That is: 1,047 people were counted as experiencing homelessness, compared to 50 more than last year, according the results, released this week in a city staff report.

While that was not necessarily bad news, there were also mixed results. Even as the overall number fell slightly, the county also found that more people were falling into homelessness: According to the results, 270 of the 1,047 who were counted were “newly unhoused,” meaning they lost their shelter within the 12 months prior to engaging with homeless services.

The new report also showed troubling patterns that have persisted through recent counts.

While Black or African American people compose 10% of Pasadena’s population, they comprised 38% of the counted people experiencing homeless, according to the report. Latino people made up 40% of the county, despite the fact that they make up 34% of the population.

The audit also shone a light on higher rates of disabling conditions among those are unhoused. For instance, nearly 80% of those counted cited one or more long-term health conditions or disabilities. Mental health conditions were the most common, impacting 45% of those counted.

City staffers said the number of permanent housing placements held steady, with 327 people experiencing homeless who were permanently housed.

The count was to be a topic at the City Council meeting on Monday but was postponed because of a prolonged discussion on the budget.

Its results appear to align with countywide patterns.

Citing raw data from the 2025 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, officials announced in March that they expect to see a 5% to 10% decrease in unsheltered homelessness in the region, which would mark the second consecutive year of such a decline.

According to the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority, the city-county joint homeless agency, the preliminary results are in line with the year before, which showed a 10.7% and 5.1% decrease in unsheltered homelessness within the city and the county of Los Angeles, respectively. The final results of the 2025 count are expected this summer.

In contrast to the city’s 2024 calendar year count, Pasadena’s 2025 Point-in-Time Count, conducted on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20, yielded upticks in the number of homeless on those nights, including among sheltered and unsheltered homeless people.

Pasadena officials joined Los Angeles County back in January — amid concern over the deadly Eaton fire and other blazes — in postponing the 2025 Point-in-Time Homeless Count. Ultimately, it was delayed until February.

Officials acknowledge the impact of the fires and the delay in the report.

“While the American Red Cross evacuation shelter had already relocated from the Pasadena Convention Center to Pamela Park in Duarte, resources for fire-impacted households such as FEMA transitional sheltering assistance, Airbnb stays, and hotel stays through Los Angeles County’s 211 were still readily accessible, mitigating the disaster’s impact on the one-night count,” according to the report.

But now, it added, local homeless services providers have reported “a stark increase” in request for services among people who even before the fire were living on the margins, albeit with shelter.

According to the city’s report, 581 people were homeless in Pasadena on the night of the count —  a 4% increase over last year’s point-in-time count. That included 12 people at shelters who had been “directly impacted by the Eaton fire.”

Other points from the snap-shot count included:

• Unsheltered homelessness rose by 7%. That is, on the night of the count, 342 people were living unsheltered. Half of them, 54%, were sleeping on the sidewalk or street — an increase of 21 people from th 2024 point-in-time count of 321.
• Single adults — 485 in all — comprise a growing share of the city’s homeless.

For the second year in a row, officials did note a reduction in the number of veterans on the street.

City officials say they have been trying to bolster the city’s resources to deal with the issue of homelessness.

In 2023, the city purchased the 2.38-acre site located at the Lake Avenue and Villa Street, which had been used for outpatient and administrative services.

The 2.28-acre site had sat empty for 10 years before Los Angeles County and city officials joined back in on  an ambitious plan to reimagine it. That plan included up to 100 housing units and a goal to expand homeless, mental health and community services in an area officials say is “high priority” for such services.

But with such goals came some storm clouds in the city’s homeless count report this week.

Proposed cuts to federal funds coming to the city represent 76% of the Housing Department’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

If those cuts happen, that will “present significant challenges the City’s ability to maintain its robust response to the growing challenges related to homelessness in Pasadena,” officials noted, adding that they hope there are offsets brought by Los Angeles County’s Measure A, which is set to bring expanded funding for homeless services and affordable housing development to the city.

“This boost in resources has the potential to strengthen the City’s response to homelessness and help bridge critical funding gaps caused by federal cuts.”

The point-in-time count itself included 160 volunteers and professional homeless services workers.