Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt claims most of Los Angeles’ homeless population is not from California but has instead been “brought” to the state from elsewhere.

“Ready for the best part? Sixty percent of the people in Los Angeles that are ‘experiencing homelessness,’ they’re not from California! They’ve been brought here by NGOs that profit off of this homeless industrial complex,” Pratt told Bill Maher on his podcast.

The comment left Maher confused about what Pratt meant when he said people were being transported into the Golden State from other parts of the country.

“They’ve been brought here,” Pratt reiterated. “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.”

Maher brought up Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the former Democratic vice-presidential candidate, arguing that it is better to be homeless in California because of the weather, plus the benefits and assistance available in the state than in places such as Minnesota, where fewer services are offered.

Pratt quickly pushed back, saying he did not know exactly where people were coming from but claimed he had spoken with many former homeless individuals who told him they had moved to California from out of state.

Pratt’s comments echo a common perception that Los Angeles attracts large numbers of homeless people from elsewhere. However, available data paints a more complicated picture.

At the statewide level, research suggests that most homeless Californians lost housing close to where they had already been living.

A comprehensive study by the University of California, San Francisco’s Benioff Homelessness, and Housing Initiative found that roughly 90% of respondents became homeless while living in California, while three-quarters remained in the same county where they had last maintained stable housing.

However, data from Los Angeles indicates that a larger share of the homeless population may have come from outside the county.

A 2020 report by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority found that about one-third of unsheltered people in Los Angeles County became homeless outside the county.

More recently, a 2024 RAND Corporation study found that 41% of homeless individuals surveyed in Hollywood, Venice and Skid Row were last housed somewhere other than Los Angeles County.

In this campaign message, Pratt argues that many homeless people are primarily drug addicts suffering from fentanyl and methamphetamine addictions who refuse shelter rules. He advocates for “treatment first” over simply offering housing beds.

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