In 2023, the San Francisco metro area issued about 7,500 new housing permits. The Boston metro area issued 10,500. New York City, Newark, and Jersey City—together—issued slightly fewer than 40,000. The Houston metro area issued almost 70,000.11 This divergence is decades old, and its consequences are clear. Houston has the lowest homelessness rate of any major US city.
Houston MSA also has double the area and a third of the density
