Chart assignment

Charts to read and discuss

Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.

  1. How fast is rent going up in the US?

Chart 1 of 1 · Inflation

How fast is rent going up in the US?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

Rent changed by 2.8% in the 12 months to September 2026. Each point compares a month with the same month a year earlier, starting in 1949, the first year BLS priced rent every month. The biggest rise was 9.3% in the year to June 1980; rent increases reached 8.8% in February 2023, and fell below zero in May 2010, to -0.1%. October 2025 and October 2026 are missing because BLS collected no prices in October 2025.

Questions to discuss

  1. In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
  2. Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
  3. Who collected these numbers, and how recent are they? What else would you want to know before drawing a conclusion?

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (rent of primary residence) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Sep 30, 2026

Open the chart and its numbers

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