Tents are set up under the Pajaro River bridge in Watsonville in 2022. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)

SANTA CRUZ >> Homelessness dropped 36% in the City of Santa Cruz and jumped 60% in Watsonville from 2023 to 2024, according to a recent report from the Santa Cruz County Housing for Health Partnership. The number of homeless people living in Capitola and Scotts Valley also increased.

Countywide homelessness remained “essentially unchanged” at 1,850 people, Housing for Health Division Director Robert Ratner wrote in a July 19 statement. 

County staff worked with community volunteers and consultant ASR Research to complete the Santa Cruz County 2024 Homelessness Point-in-Time Count and Report. The count took place Jan. 25. 

Other key findings from the report:

• 86% of survey respondents were living in Santa Cruz County when they became homeless. Of those people, 63% were county residents for a decade or longer.
• There were fewer homeless veterans, families, and unaccompanied children and youth in 2024.
• The number of chronically homeless people countywide increased slightly in 2024.

Four charts below explain other findings in the report.

Read More

• How many unhoused people have found homes in Santa Cruz County? — June 13, 2024
• Rising homelessness in Watsonville prompts new strategies — March 26, 2024
• Report finds fewer homeless residents in Santa Cruz County — Aug. 4, 2023
• Is homeless services spending effective in Santa Cruz County? — May 5, 2023

Correction: An earlier version of a chart in this story contained incorrect information about the number of unhoused people in unincorporated areas of Santa Cruz County.

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