Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories
Citizens in Name Only: What the Supreme Court Can’t Fix

Citizens in Name Only: What the Supreme Court Can’t Fix

The American Experiment at the Brink Due To Minority Rule

The American Experiment at the Brink Due To Minority Rule

The Future of DEI in Higher Education: Unpacking Recent Federal Restrictions

The Future of DEI in Higher Education: Unpacking Recent Federal Restrictions

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

A miniature residence of the President of the United States, the White House, against the backdrop of 100 US dollar bills.
Economy

Trump’s State Capitalism Marks a Radical Break in U.S. Policy

Elks, Rotarians, and Both Party’s Lust for Control
Elections

Elks, Rotarians, and Both Party’s Lust for Control

Protesters interact with Capitol Police inside the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.
Rule of Law

While Trump Slush Fund for Convicted Criminals Could Die, It’s Another Example of Trump Tyranny

Storytelling Is Foundational to Keeping Our Democracy Intact
Democracy

Storytelling Is Foundational to Keeping Our Democracy Intact

Read More

Collage.
Collage by Alex Bandoni/ProPublica. Source images: Bloomberg/Getty Images, Firearm Transaction Record Form via U.S. Department of Justice and Alec MacGillis/ProPublica.

“No One Is Watching”: How Trump Reversed Biden’s Crackdown on Gun Trafficking

Marianna Mitchem grew up in the Denver suburbs, where she played high school soccer. One day in April 1999, her team faced off against a nearby rival, Columbine High. The next day, two teenagers went on a shooting rampage at Columbine, killing more than a dozen people.

The massacre left an imprint on Mitchem. After graduating from Providence College, she joined the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “Fearing for my friends and watching what was happening — you don’t forget things like that,” she told me. “I wanted to make a difference.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Mutual Surveillance?: The History and Consequences of the Treaty on Open Skies

American flag on a military uniform

adamkaz/Getty Images

Mutual Surveillance?: The History and Consequences of the Treaty on Open Skies

This nonpartisan policy brief, written by an ACE fellow, is republished by The Fulcrum as part of our partnership with the Alliance for Civic Engagement and our NextGen initiative — elevating student voices, strengthening civic education, and helping readers better understand democracy and public policy.

Key Takeaways

Keep ReadingShow less
White marble exterior of the United States Capitol, often called the Capitol Building, is the home of the United States Congress and the seat of the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government

This week's congressional agenda includes anti-fraud legislation, ICE funding, FISA Section 702 renewal debates, and major committee hearings.

Richard Sharrocks / Getty Images

Fraud, Funding, and FISA

Fraud

This week in the House is Fraud Week based on the large number of bills likely to receive a vote that in some way are intended to decrease or eliminate many different kinds of fraud. Example bills up for a vote include:

Funding

One bill will likely become law this week if it passes the House:

Keep ReadingShow less
Anti-gerrymandering sign

Florida's new congressional map, the Supreme Court's Callais decision, and challenges to voting rights protections raise urgent questions about redistricting, representation, and democratic accountability.

Bill Clark/Getty Images

Florida’s New Map and the Shrinking Window for Accountability

When the Lines Began Moving Faster Than the Law

On May 4, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Florida’s new congressional map into law. The Legislature had passed it five days earlier, 83 to 28 in the House and 21 to 17 in the Senate. The map redraws four districts in ways that election analysts project would shift them from competitive or Democratic-leaning to safe Republican, potentially expanding a delegation Republicans already control 20 to 8.

The same day the Legislature voted, the Supreme Court decided Louisiana v. Callais. The Court ruled 6 to 3 that Louisiana’s majority-minority district could not survive Equal Protection scrutiny under the standards applied by the majority. In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the ruling “renders Section 2 all but a dead letter” in redistricting.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2026