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.
Chart 1 of 1 · Inflation
How much has US rent gone up since 1947?
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.
Rent in September 2026 was 18 times its level in January 1947, the first year BLS priced rent every month, and 2.5 times its level of January 2000. This is the Consumer Price Index for rent of a primary residence, which follows the rent of the same homes over time, so it shows how fast rents rise rather than the average rent; 100 is its 1982–84 average. October 2025 is missing because BLS collected no prices that month, during a lapse in federal funding.
Questions to discuss
- In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
- Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
- 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
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