Gavin Newsom Is Lying About His Record on Homelessness Again

Gavin Newsom has been fighting homelessness in California for two decades, and homelessness is winning. Despite wasting tens of billions of dollars, vowing to solve the problem, homelessness is still on the rise. But that doesn't deter Newsom from lying through his teeth about the issue.

California's unsheltered homelessness was on the rise in the years before I took office as governor. Just last year, it DROPPED 9%.

Thanks to our ongoing work, California is bucking the nationwide increase in homeless rates through urgency, compassion, and local accountability.
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) April 8, 2026

This is simply not true, for a variety of reasons. For starters, it only looks at a handful of communities; it is not a statewide tally of homelessness.

The Center Square, on the other hand, reported real numbers back on March 9. Looking at all the data, Center Square says homelessness was up to 187,000, a 60 percent increase from 2015 and a 24 percent increase from 2019.

Here's more:

Data published by the Hoover Institution last March puts California’s homeless population as 187,000, up 60% from the state’s 2015 numbers and a 24% increase in 2019, when the state’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program was launched. The program makes state-funded grants available to cities and counties throughout the state to help reduce homelessness in their communities, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
In an emailed response to The Center Square, officials with the California Department of Housing & Community Development said a Homekey program resulted in the construction of 16,000 new homes, all part of 250 different housing projects in the state. The creation of new homes is expected to help more than 172,000 people, the department said.
“Our commitment to overcoming bureaucratic hurdles has led to an astonishing 59% increase in residential construction, slashing approval timelines by up to 62%,” Alicia Murillo, a communications specialist with the department, wrote in an email to The Center Square. “California is not just tackling homelessness; we are redefining what success looks like.”