Unearth The Voyage
Across America, major cities are grappling with a homelessness crisis that has become impossible to ignore. Tourists visiting popular destinations in 2025 are encountering encampments, street homelessness, and outreach efforts in areas they once knew as bustling shopping districts and iconic landmarks. While some cities report progress in their counts, the visible reality on the ground tells a more complex story. Understanding where and why this crisis intersects with tourism offers insight into one of the nation’s most pressing challenges.
1. Los Angeles, CA
Venice Beach has long drawn visitors with its eclectic boardwalk vibe, but in 2025, tourists are also witnessing repeated encampment cleanups. Despite two consecutive years of declining homeless counts, the city still has around 43,699 unhoused individuals.
The beach area underwent multiple sweeps this summer, pushing tents away from the iconic boardwalk. Yet the problem hasn’t disappeared; it has simply shifted. Visitors strolling past street performers and skate parks now also see the remnants of a crisis that refuses to fade, even as officials tout modest statistical improvements citywide.
2. San Francisco, CA
San Francisco’s 2025 numbers show fewer tents citywide, and Union Square retail is bouncing back. Still, high-profile encampment clearings keep homelessness front and center for anyone visiting the city’s tourist zones.
One notorious cleanup in September targeted a sprawling freeway encampment locals called the “hairball.” Complaints from residents and business owners continue, especially near popular shopping and dining areas. Tourists expecting postcard-perfect streets often encounter a grittier reality, where outreach workers and displaced individuals remain part of the everyday landscape around cable car stops and waterfront attractions.
3. Seattle, WA
Pike Place Market draws millions of visitors each year, but just steps away, investigative reporters have documented profound suffering among Seattle’s unhoused population. Downtown proximity makes the crisis unavoidable.
Washington State’s overall homeless count climbed again in 2025, and the core shopping district reflects that trend. Tourists snapping photos of flying fish and flower vendors also walk past tents, makeshift shelters, and outreach teams. The juxtaposition is jarring: a world-famous market thriving alongside a growing humanitarian emergency that city leaders struggle to address effectively.
4. Portland, OR
Portland’s 2025 blueprint promises more shelters and day centers, but record unsheltered counts mean visitors around Old Town still see plenty of tents. Regionwide data released this spring painted a sobering picture of the scale.
Downtown streets that once felt quirky and artsy now feature visible outreach activity and encampments. Tourists heading to Powell’s Books or the Saturday Market navigate sidewalks where people are living in doorways and under awnings. City officials are working to expand services, yet the problem remains highly visible, especially in the historic core where most out-of-town guests spend their time exploring.
5. Phoenix, AZ
After courts forced the closure of “The Zone,” a massive downtown encampment, Phoenix’s homelessness didn’t vanish. Instead, it dispersed across the city, surging in visibility near central corridors and service hubs.
Visitors exploring the downtown arts district or heading to sports venues now encounter smaller camps scattered throughout neighborhoods. The closure solved one concentrated problem but created many smaller ones. Tourists notice individuals sleeping in doorways, pushing shopping carts, or gathering near bus stops. The issue has become more widespread, making it harder for anyone passing through Phoenix to avoid witnessing the crisis firsthand.
6. Denver, CO
Denver’s unsheltered street homelessness hit a six-year low in 2025, thanks to aggressive encampment removals and sheltering efforts. Yet overall homelessness reached record levels metro-wide, creating a paradox for visitors.
Tourists see fewer large tent cities but more shelters, motel conversions, and service centers concentrated near downtown. The crisis hasn’t shrunk; it has moved indoors and into temporary housing. Visitors walking to restaurants or catching a Rockies game still pass by these facilities and encounter individuals waiting outside for services. The visibility has shifted, but the scale of the problem remains impossible to miss.
7. Austin, TX
State-ordered sweeps in October 2025 and city cleanups clearing over 1,500 encampments last year reflect how visible Austin’s unsheltered crisis has become. Highways and downtown routes that tourists travel show the aftermath.
Visitors driving into the city or walking near the capitol building see cleared sites, outreach teams, and displaced individuals. The 2025 ECHO report charts system-wide progress, yet the issue remains conspicuous along major corridors. Live music capital or not, Austin’s rapid growth has outpaced its ability to house everyone, and tourists witness that gap daily as they navigate a city struggling to balance its welcoming reputation with mounting social challenges.
8. San Diego, CA
San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter and East Village attract tourists with their nightlife and Victorian architecture, but visitors also observe unsheltered populations despite a 7% regional decline in counts. The city posts ongoing downtown tallies publicly.
Tourists heading to restaurants, clubs, or the convention center walk past individuals living on sidewalks and in doorways. While the 2025 numbers show improvement, the visible reality remains challenging. The Downtown Partnership and regional task force publish regular updates, acknowledging that progress is incremental. For out-of-towners expecting a carefree beach city vibe, the contrast between tourist amenities and street homelessness is stark and unavoidable.
9. Washington, D.C.
D.C. reported a 9% drop in its 2025 point-in-time count, but high-profile sweeps near landmarks kept the crisis in public view. Areas around Union Station and federal sites have seen repeated enforcement actions.
Tourists visiting monuments and museums encounter individuals living near Metro entrances and in parks. Sweeps at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church area and around government buildings generated headlines. The nation’s capital, where policy is made, offers visitors a front-row seat to the gap between political rhetoric and on-the-ground reality. Even with declining numbers, homelessness remains highly visible in the heart of American democracy.
10. New York City, NY
Aggressive subway outreach and housing placements ramped up in 2025, reflecting how noticeable homelessness has become to riders and Midtown pedestrians. Coverage describes a “surge” in subway homelessness and ongoing quality-of-life enforcement.
Tourists riding the subway to see Broadway shows or visit Times Square share train cars with unhoused individuals seeking shelter underground. The city has intensified efforts to move people into housing, but the sheer scale means visitors still witness the crisis daily. From panhandlers to people sleeping on benches, the issue is woven into the fabric of the city, impossible for millions of annual tourists to overlook.
11. Philadelphia, PA
Kensington’s open-air drug market has remained a media focal point, visible even amid new enforcement and treatment capacity. The city estimates hundreds live on the streets in that area, with displacement shifting activity block by block.
Tourists who venture beyond Center City or take a wrong turn can stumble into scenes of profound crisis: tents, drug use, and people in desperate need. The neighborhood has become shorthand for urban decay, and while officials are adding services, the problem is deeply entrenched. Visitors expecting historic charm and cheesesteaks may instead witness one of America’s most visible intersections of homelessness, addiction, and poverty.
12. Las Vegas, NV
Encampments persist off the Strip and in washes not far from tourist corridors, drawing county attention and neighbor complaints. Local reporting in 2025 has focused on camps near major arterials east of the famous casino row.
Tourists driving rental cars or taking shuttles to attractions catch glimpses of tent cities tucked into desert washes and vacant lots. The glittering casinos and neon lights stand in sharp contrast to the makeshift shelters visible just blocks away. Las Vegas has long struggled with homelessness, and while the Strip itself is heavily policed, the surrounding areas tell a different story—one that visitors increasingly notice as they explore beyond the main drag.
13. Honolulu (Waikīkī), HI
Waikīkī’s business district has tracked its own counts for years, and 2024 to 2025 reporting shows growing visibility in parks and beaches. Targeted outreach in tourist zones reflects how noticeable the crisis has become.
Visitors expecting paradise find it complicated by the sight of people living in tents along the beach and in public parks. Hawaii’s high cost of living has pushed many residents into homelessness, and Waikīkī, with its services and foot traffic, becomes a gathering point. Tourists sunbathing and snorkeling share the same spaces with individuals who have nowhere else to go, creating an uncomfortable reality that no postcard can hide.
14. Sacramento, CA
Despite a 2024 point-in-time dip versus 2022, Sacramento’s mayor called the current pace unacceptable in a May 2025 update. County briefings describe persistent outreach needs along parkways and central areas that visitors cross to reach museums and the Capitol.
Tourists exploring the state capital encounter encampments along the American River Parkway and in downtown corridors. The city is adding services, but the visible presence remains significant. Visitors heading to Old Sacramento or the capitol building walk past tents and outreach workers, witnessing a crisis that local leaders acknowledge is far from solved despite some statistical improvements in recent years.
15. Boston, MA
“Mass. & Cass” remains a moving hotspot: city plans and news coverage in September and October 2025 describe shifting activity from the South End to other neighborhoods. Out-of-towners notice it near major transit and hospital hubs.
Regional data show recent spikes, especially among families, and the problem has become harder to contain in one area. Tourists using the T or visiting medical institutions encounter individuals displaced from the original epicenter. Boston’s historic charm and academic prestige exist alongside a growing crisis that city officials are still learning to manage. Visitors expecting cobblestone streets and colonial history also see a modern American challenge playing out in real time.
