n TV news segments and election season political ads, images of sprawling tent encampments have become the face of a worsening homelessness crisis in Los Angeles.

But tents did not play a significant role in the past year’s 9% rise in homelessness across L.A. County. In fact, the number of tents used as dwellings on L.A. streets fell slightly, from 4,304 in 2022 to 4,293 in 2023.

Instead, the increase reported in this year’s homeless count was disproportionately driven by people living in vehicles. The number of cars used as shelters rose 16%, and the number of vans skyrocketed 44%.

Unhoused people in L.A. County used more than 14,000 vehicles (including RVs) as dwellings according to the region’s 2023 count, compared with about 9,300 tents or makeshift shelters.

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