FACT BRIEFIs homelessness in Nevada at its highest since the Great Recession?
Yes.
Homelessness in Nevada is currently at its highest since the Great Recession, which peaked at 14,478 people in 2009. In 2024, the number of people facing homelessness reached 10,106, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, breaking a previous 2014 record of 9,417 people experiencing homelessness.
While the total number of homeless people is at its highest, the rate peaked in 2009 at 41.8 per 10,000 people. The homelessness rate for 2024 was 32 people per 10,000 in Nevada, the ninth highest rate in the nation, but the rate was higher in 2014 — 36.4 per 10,000 people.
A study by the Nevada-based Guinn Center for Policy Priorities found that high rental prices can lead to increases in homelessness. The report found nearly half of Nevada’s renters spend an excessive portion of their income on housing.
This fact brief was corrected on 12/04/2025 at 10:49a.m. to include updated 2024 data.
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Sources
- Brookings Homelessness fell across most metro areas after the Great Recession. Will COVID-19 change that?
- Guinn Center for Policy Priorities Housing Affordability in Nevada: An Economic Analysis and Policy Considerations
- National Alliance to End Homelessness NV Fact Sheet
- Las Vegas Review-Journal 2014 homeless census finds population in Clark Southern Nevada grows
- Affordable Housing Finance Highest Rates of Homelessness
- The Center Square Homelessness remains a serious problem in Nevada, report shows
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