By Gabby McIntyre
Death among the homeless population in L.A county has stayed high for many years, with the average amount of daily deaths being roughly 6.9 people in 2023. Though this is unfortunate, Los Angeles County health officials predict that the mortality surge that spiked rates 56% higher than usual over the past two years may be leveling out. The deceased rates were 5.6% in the previous year. Due to the increase in the homeless population affecting the count’s numbers, the number of deaths was 3.326 per 100,000 people, meaning the increase was only 1.3%, and an improvement.
The Country director of Bureau of Substance Abuse Prevention and Control, Dr. Gary Tsai, stated that the leveling might be the result of the awareness of fetynal risks among the homeless populations. Drug and alchohol overdose is the leading cause of homeless deaths, accouuting for 45% of them. Of the overdose percentage, 70% of the deaths were linked to fentanyl. Dr, Tsai did note that there have been not significant changes that imply fentanyl awarness to be a significant factor. According to a report on the morality of homeless people by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, can be atributed to the increase in the dritibustion of naloxone, a medication that has the ability to reverse an overdose.
The calculation of homeless death statistics remains difficult to preform due to the reliance on the yearly unhoused count that continues to fluctuate. The count uses accidental and violent death records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner as well as California’d death certificate database.
References:
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. (2025, March). Mortality rates and causes of death among people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County: 2017–2023. https://publichealth.lacounty.gov/chie/reports/Homeless_Mortality_Report_2025.pdf
Schrank, A. (2025, March 6). Nearly 7 unhoused LA County residents died each day in 2023. LAist. https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/unhoused-death-rate-la-county-residents-2023
Smith, D. (2025, March 6). Homeless deaths in L.A. County are leveling off but still nearly seven per day. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-03-06/homeless-deaths-in-l-a-county-are-leveling-off-but-still-nearly-seven-per-day