California's homeless population spiked higher than other states over the past year.
That's according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which released their annual homeless assessment report this month. The report also found that for the first time in seven years, homelessness across the nation increased by nearly one percent between 2016 and 2017. This increase is largely driven by the homeless crisis happening across cities in California and other West Coast states.
California experienced a nearly 14 percent increase in homelessness from 2016 to 2017. Nevada saw the second largest rise in the same time frame with a nearly 6 percent increase-- an 8 percent gap from California.
According to the report, California and New York are the states with the largest number of people experiencing homelessness.
In California, 35 people per 10,000 are homeless compared to the national average of 17 people per 10,000. Additionally, the Golden State accounted for nearly half of "unsheltered" people in the country in 2017, the report said.
In California, nearly 90 percent of chronically homeless individuals-- or a people who are continually homeless-- are unsheltered.
By county, Sacramento County held the tenth largest population of chronically homeless individuals in the U.S. Sacramento County has been working on solutions for the rising homeless population but people are still dying on the streets.
In Sacramento County, 92 homeless people have died so far this year, according to Sacramento County spokesperson, Kim Nava.
The number is higher than last year, where 71 homeless people died within the county, according to data from the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness.
The coalition found that from 2002 to 2016, a total of 776 homeless individuals have died in Sacramento County. That's equivalent to one person every seven days for 15 years. Only 27 percent of the deaths were from natural causes in 2016, while 33 percent of homeless people died in a violent matter the same year, according to the coalition.
The majority of people living on the streets in Sacramento County are homeless due to insufficient income or loss of a job.
