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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.
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Sources
Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index - July 2024
Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index
Lorraine Marquez Eiler’s photo of her great-great grandparents and her great-grandparents, who would walk about 50 miles through the Sonoran Desert to the springs.
The Quitobaquito pond sits near the U.S.-Mexico border just west of the Lukeville port of entry on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. The Trump administration is attempting to build a second border fence 150-feet from the existing border, which O’odham tribal members and environmentalists say would damage Quitobaquito, a sacred site to the O’odham and other indigenous people. Credit: Stephanie Casanova
Construction equipment is seen near the U.S.-Mexico border just west of the Lukeville port of entry on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. Credit: Stephanie Casanova
Rep. Adelita Grijalva, left, and Tohono O’odham Chairman Verlon Jose listen as Lorraine Marquez Eiler, a Hia-C’ed O’odham elder, shares how her ancestors would hold ceremonies at Quitobaquito Springs. Grijalva visited the springs with tribal leaders on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. Credit: Stephanie Casanova
Sara Mae Williams, Justice of the Peace in Ajo and a Tohono O’odham citizen, shares their concerns regarding border wall construction on Tohono O’odham land at a town hall at the Ajo Plaza Rec Hall on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. Credit: Stephanie Casanova