In Los Angeles, thousands of Americans are forced to live in their cars

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• United States United States United States

By Jessica Gourdon 

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FeatureSeveral thousand people live in a car, van or camper in the city of Los Angeles. The situation highlights the growing difficulties of low-income Americans to find stable housing, a major problem in the United States.

Tom Williamson has been living in his Dodge Magnum, a gray station wagon packed to the brim, for more than four years. The life of the 51-year-old American changed dramatically in November 2021, when he was on medical leave due to heart problems. His landlord ended the lease on his apartment in Wenatchee, a small town in Washington State where he was living. The former construction worker found himself without a roof over his head and unable to work. So he climbed into his Dodge and headed for Los Angeles, in the state of California, where the climate is milder.

Since then, he has been living in the neighborhood of Venice, regularly moving his car to a new parking spot. Each month, he receives $1,365 (€1,170) in Social Security disability benefits. It is enough to pay for gas, his food and that of his pets, but in a metropolitan area where a studio apartment costs at least $1,500, that amount is nowhere near enough to cover rent. California is one of the most expensive states in the United States. "I have applied to several subsidized housing programs, but single men are at the bottom of the list . My only hope is to leave California. I'm waiting until I've saved $5,000, and then I'll leave," he said.

Venice is far from being the only gathering point for precariously housed people. Between 15,000 and 20,000 people live in cars, vans or campers across Los Angeles County, parked beneath freeway ramps, in parking lots or along streets in both the city's affluent neighborhoods and its most inhospitable industrial zones. There is no comparable situation anywhere else in the US. These residents make up a significant portion of the overall homeless population, which has surged in the US over the past decade, rising from 45,000 people in 2015 to 73,000 in 2026, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA).

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