Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories
Gynecologist doing ultrasound of pregnant woman in hospital.

No Doctor, No Delivery, No Future

A military ship out in the sea.

Reasons to Care about the Sailors Aboard the USS Lincoln

Person holding gavel and reading from a book.

Retired Chief Justices Warn of Growing Threats to the Rule of Law

What Will It Take to Rebuild American Democracy?

What Will It Take to Rebuild American Democracy?

Woman putting savings in a white piggy bank.

Affordability Crisis: From The Great Compression to the Great Divide

Are housing costs driving inflation in 2024?

Houses with price tags
retrorocket/Getty Images
Miles Guerin
By Miles GuerinSep 13, 2024
Miles Guerin
Miles Guerin, EconoFact is a contributor for The Fulcrum, a nonpartisan publication dedicated to strengthening democracy by fostering informed civic engagement and elevating diverse perspectives.
See More Writings by author

This fact brief was originally published by EconoFact. Read the original here. Fact briefs are published by newsrooms in the Gigafact network, and republished by The Fulcrum. Visit Gigafact to learn more.

Are housing costs driving inflation in 2024?

Yes.

The rise in housing costs has been a major source of overall inflation, which was 2.9% in the 12 months ending in July 2024.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' shelter index, which includes housing costs for renters and homeowners, rose 5.1% in the 12 months ending in July 2024.

Housing costs account for 36.3% of the Consumer Price Index. This represents the largest share of any category.

The Consumer Price Index is an ongoing measure of price changes in a representative "basket" of consumer goods and services.

The only category in the CPI that increased at a greater rate was transportation services at 8.8%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the rise in housing costs over this period accounted for over 70% of the total 12-month increase in the core CPI – that is, the CPI excluding food and energy prices, which rose 3.2% in this 12 month period.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index - July 2024

Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index


Latest news

Affordability Crisis - Role of Non-Popular Vote President’s SCOTUS Appointees
Elections

Affordability Crisis - Role of Non-Popular Vote President’s SCOTUS Appointees

The Long Tradition of Lawyers Defending U.S. Democracy
Rule of Law

The Long Tradition of Lawyers Defending U.S. Democracy

California Latinos Showed Up—Now Party Insiders Want to Shut Them Out
Elections

California Latinos Showed Up—Now Party Insiders Want to Shut Them Out

Read More

Everyone is campaigning on ‘affordability’ that no one can deliver

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, left, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on Nov. 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Trump congratulated Mamdani on his election win as the two political opponents met to discuss policies for New York City, including affordability, public safety, and immigration.

(Tribune Content Agency)

Everyone is campaigning on ‘affordability’ that no one can deliver

Remember “affordability” mania?

The time was 2025. A young, charismatic democratic socialist candidate for New York City mayor named Zohran Mamdani became a viral sensation. His secret? “Affordability.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Medical Vial Vaccine on Shelf Table

Peptides like BPC-157, MOTS-c and Semax are surging in popularity despite limited human evidence. Here’s why FDA regulation, research and safety matter.

skaman306/Getty Images

Millions Using Unapproved Peptides as FDA Debates Regulation

Peptides, the short chains of amino acids that help regulate biological functions, have become the latest obsession in health, fitness, and longevity.

Online clinics and wellness influencers promote them as ways to heal injuries, reduce inflammation, improve metabolism, sharpen thinking, and slow aging.

Keep ReadingShow less
An illustration of the U.S. flag on the shape of the U.S. with blue and red figures of people across it.

Every state has its own constitution.

aprott iStock / Getty Images Plus

How State Constitutions Became the Battleground for American Rights and Liberties – on Both the Left and Right

Beyond picking governors, state legislators, local officials and representatives to serve in Congress, voters in almost every state this year will have the opportunity to amend the language of their state constitution. In one state, they could potentially rewrite the constitution altogether.

Though the U.S. Constitution is rarely amended, voters frequently amend their state constitutions. In every election cycle, voters are asked to ratify constitutional amendments.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Unscrupulousness of AIPAC

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual policy conference at the Washington Convention Center March 6, 2018 in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Unscrupulousness of AIPAC

After AIPAC failed to defeat El-Sayed in the Michigan Democratic Senate primary—after spending $32 million—it said that it remains committed to defeating El-Sayed and his "radical, anti-Israel" agenda in the general election. Which means it is poised to sink tens of millions of dollars in supporting Republican Mike Rogers. It also said that Haley Stevens, his opponent, had presented "an authentic Democratic agenda." Meaning that El-Sayed did not? And they think that Mike Rogers, a MAGA Trump supporter, does compared with El-Sayed?

How can AIPAC say that El-Sayed does not present an authentic Democratic agenda when his socialist stance is much more in line with the principles stated in the Declaration of Independence than most centrist Democrats'? And making it sound like AIPAC cares about an authentic Democratic agenda is deceitful, when in the same breath they make clear that they will support Mike Rogers, a Trump lackey, in the general election.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2026