As California’s housing costs continue to outpace wages, housing security and stability are top of mind for many. Trends in evictions, which are linked to the risk of homelessness, offer an important lens on the housing crisis. About 4% of all Californians and 13% of low-income households reported that they faced the threat of eviction during 2024, according to the PPIC Statewide Survey. We find that last fiscal year the statewide eviction rate was similar to the previous year’s rate, with wide variation across counties.

Landlords submitted nearly 136,000 eviction filings (about 22 per 1,000 renter households) to remove a tenant from housing in fiscal year 2024, most often for failure to pay rent. While this is comparable to the 2023 rate, it represents a large increase from 2021, when evictions dropped steeply due to several pandemic-era eviction moratoriums and rental assistance programs. Most eviction protections in California ended by June 2022, though some local ordinances lasted into early 2023. As of March 2025, California’s rental relief program had distributed more than $4.7 billion to over 370,000 households to cover past due rents. Under this program, qualifying landlords could also apply to recoup unpaid rent.

The eviction rate in 2024 was slightly higher compared to before the pandemic. In 2019, evictions had been on a steady downward trend from more than 160,000 eviction filings statewide (29 per 1,000 renter households) earlier in the decade. It is important to note that many renters may opt to move out in anticipation of a formal filing to avoid having an eviction proceeding on their rental housing record, so these numbers undercount people who may be facing the threat of an eviction.

In 2024, eviction rates across counties ranged from a high of 38 filings per 1,000 renter households (San Bernardino) to a low of 8 (Santa Cruz). When we examine changes since the pandemic, we find several large counties, including Los Angeles and some in the Bay Area (Contra Costa, Alameda, and San Mateo), have seen eviction rates increase since 2019. In particular, Alameda has seen nearly a 50% increase in eviction filings, perhaps due to the fact that the county’s local eviction protections lasted through April 2023, delaying many eviction proceedings. In addition, Sacramento County, which already had a relatively high eviction rate, has seen increases since 2019.

These differences across counties are related to a myriad of factors, including variation in housing markets, local tenant protection policies, and the economic circumstances of residents, among others.

Legal aid and other court resources are available to Californians facing evictions, though renters are much less likely to have legal representation compared to landlords. Local community-based organizations also offer assistance, though these resources are often limited and availability varies across communities.

Local and state policies provide some protection for renters as well. For example, some California cities—most often in the Bay Area and Los Angeles—have rent control policies that limit dramatic annual cost increases. In addition, the California Tenant Protections Act of 2019 created statewide protections from excessive rent increases and requires landlords to have “just cause” to remove a tenant.

When it comes to preventing evictions, cities throughout the country are using eviction protections as a strategy to combat homelessness. Although causes of homelessness involve both personal and systemic factors, there is some evidence suggesting a relationship between national evictions and rates of sheltered homelessness.

At the state level, California lawmakers have continued to focus on eviction protections in recent years. For example, a new eviction protection law that went into effect on January 1 of this year doubled the time (from 5 days to 10 days) for people to respond to an eviction filing. But some eviction protections may have unintended consequences—generating larger costs for landlords that are then passed on in the form of higher rents or more aggressive screening for rental housing. One recent study found direct financial incentives for landlords would be more effective at preventing evictions over the long run compared to increasing procedural delays. Continuing to monitor trends in evictions—as well as patterns in homelessness—will be essential to informing these ongoing policy efforts.