Colorado has seen the fourth highest percentage increase in homelessness in the U.S. since 2020, according to a new report.
The report, by the free-enterprise Common Sense Institute, also called into question most of the state’s “housing first” approach, saying it “may not be the best approach to addressing this challenge.”
Colorado’s homeless population increased by 90% since 2020, ranking behind only Vermont (212%), Illinois (148%) and Rhode Island (121%). According to the report, the state’s 3.14 homeless per 1,000 residents ranks ninth nationally.
In the combined Denver-Boulder-Aurora area, $405 million in local, state, federal and nonprofit funding was spent in 2023 to combat homelessness, CSI noted.
Denver had a record-high 9,977 unhoused individuals in 2024, according to point-in-time counts. Of those, 2,233 individuals participated in Denver’s “housing
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