San Francisco counted 1,794 people living out of their vehicles in 2019, a 45% increase from the last homeless count in 2017. Across the bay in Alameda county, home of Oakland, officials counted 2,817 individuals living out of vehicles – more than double the 1,259 they counted in 2017.
The uptick in vehicle living comes as no surprise to housing advocates, who have long warned of the consequences of an untenable housing crisis in the region. For the last 10 years, California has constructed less than half the new homes needed to keep up with population growth, creating a scarcity that has driven up rents and home prices.
In San Francisco, the median price of homes was $1.7m in 2019 and the median rent was $3,700 for a one-bedroom apartment. Amid the crisis, homelessness in general has surged. San Francisco saw a 17% rise in numbers, while Alameda county had a 43% uptick. Oakland alone...