The number of homeless veterans in Alabama has risen significantly over the last year, one of the largest increases in the country, according to a recently released government study.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development study, headed by former U.S. Presidential candidate Ben Carson, shows a 26 percent increase in veterans that are currently on the streets of the Yellowhammer state compared with the same time last year. The study ran from January to January and was published in November.

Only Mississippi has a higher percentage with a 79 percent increase.

And while the figure has gone up in Alabama over the last 12 months, the state has made progress. Since 2011, the homeless veteran population has dropped by about 48 percent. Alabama currently has 339 homeless veterans, according to the report.

Of those, 133 are from the Jefferson County area, while 52 and 54 are from Mobile and Montgomery regions, respectively, noted the report.

Nationally the homeless veteran population dropped 5.4 percent over the last year and has been cut in half since 2010 when the figure was more than 70,000.

Two years ago AL.com reported that veteran homelessness in the state was decreasing, dropping from 542 in 2014 to 373 in 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2016 annual report.

In this year’s report, New Mexico, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire made up the top five with increases in veterans’ homelessness. North Dakota saw an 87 percent decrease in veteran homelessness, while Wyoming, Kentucky, Washington and Delaware saw decreases between 20 and 25 percent.