Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt is drawing attention for comments he made about homelessness in California, claiming that a majority of homeless individuals in Los Angeles originally came from outside the state.
During an appearance on Bill Maher’s podcast, Pratt argued that many people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles were not longtime California residents.
“Ready for the best part? Sixty percent of the people in Los Angeles that are ‘experiencing homelessness,’ they’re not from California,” Pratt said. “They’ve been brought here by NGOs that profit off of this homeless industrial complex.”
Maher appeared surprised by the claim and asked Pratt to explain what he meant by people being “brought” to California.
“They’ve been brought here,” Pratt responded. “Body brokers bring these people here from all across the country. If you’re an addict you can come to LA and get these rehabs and because you have Medicaid, Social Security.”
The exchange touched on a longstanding debate surrounding homelessness in California and whether the state’s climate, social services, and treatment programs attract people from elsewhere in the country.
Maher pointed to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, suggesting that someone experiencing homelessness might prefer California’s weather and available services over states with harsher winters and fewer resources.
Pratt pushed back, saying he could not identify exactly where people were coming from but claimed he had personally spoken with many formerly homeless individuals who told him they had relocated to California from other states.
The issue has long been a subject of public debate, particularly in Los Angeles, which has one of the nation’s largest homeless populations. While Pratt’s comments reflect a commonly held perception that large numbers of homeless people migrate to California, available research presents a more nuanced picture.
A statewide study conducted by the University of California, San Francisco’s Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative found that approximately 90% of surveyed homeless Californians became homeless while already living in California. The research also found that about three-quarters of respondents remained in the same county where they had last maintained stable housing.
At the same time, studies focused specifically on Los Angeles suggest that movement from outside the county may play a larger role than statewide data indicates.
According to a 2020 report from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, roughly one-third of unsheltered individuals in Los Angeles County became homeless outside the county before arriving there.
A separate 2024 study by RAND Corporation found that 41% of homeless individuals surveyed in Hollywood, Venice, and Skid Row had last been housed somewhere outside Los Angeles County.
Homelessness remains one of the central issues in the Los Angeles mayoral race. Pratt has made the crisis a key part of his campaign, arguing that addiction is a major driver of homelessness and advocating for a treatment-focused approach.
Rather than prioritizing housing alone, Pratt has said many people struggling with homelessness first need help addressing substance abuse issues, particularly addiction to fentanyl and methamphetamine. His campaign has emphasized treatment programs and recovery services as part of a strategy to address homelessness across the city.
