Why does San Diego have so many unhoused students?
When people typically imagine a homeless individual in San Diego, they picture someone living downtown or in a shelter. However, as recently highlighted by the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools, there is an alarmingly large population of unhoused students who attend K–12 schools throughout the region. Let’s break down what the statistic is and what it means for the hardworking students of San Diego’s public schools.
Source reporting on the UCLA findings: https://www.kpbs.org/news/education/2026/09/09/student-homelessness-on-the-rise-in-california-including-san-diego
The Numbers
The UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools found a rise in unhoused students in San Diego County. Over the last few years, homelessness rose from 20,651 in 2018-19 to 24,739 in 2024-25, a jump of nearly 20%. To an avid reader of the Stronger Than The Streets blog, this number might seem wrong, as San Diego’s most recent Point In Time Count only found around 10,000 unhoused individuals. With this number in mind, how could there be 2 times as many unhoused students?
The UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools simply used a different definition of “homeless student” than your typical Point-in-Time Count. UCLA included individuals couch-surfing or living in motels, two categories that are not considered unhoused in the Point-in-Time Count. This difference in definitions has contributed to the large discrepancies in reported unhoused population size.
The effects
Nevertheless, an unstable housing situation can complicate a student’s ability to attend and perform well in school. As a result of experiencing homelessness, students may have a higher absenteeism rate, since they have other necessities on their minds, such as having a place to live, food to eat, and transportation. If we want to help these students succeed, we must first stabilize their living situations to allow them to thrive in school.