Housing · BLS CPI-U · 1997–2026
Owners' equivalent rent Inflation — U.S. Consumer Price Index
As of July 2026, the CPI-U index for Owners' equivalent rent of residences is up 3.2% from a year earlier. The implicit rent homeowners would pay for their own home.
Data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). pumsdata is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by BLS.
Owners' equivalent rent: year-over-year inflation, 1998–2026
Percent change from the same month a year earlier, from the not-seasonally-adjusted CPI-U index.
October 2025 is missing from every CPI series — the federal government shutdown halted collection and the month was never published. Charts show a gap, and year-over-year and month-over-month figures skip any comparison touching the missing month; values are never interpolated.
Owners' equivalent rent: annual averages
BLS annual-average index (the CPI file’s M13 rows, shown verbatim) and the year-over-year change in that average — the standard “annual inflation” figure.
| Year | Annual avg. index | Annual inflation |
|---|---|---|
| 2025* | 427.6 | +3.9% |
| 2024 | 411.5 | +5.5% |
| 2023 | 390.2 | +7.5% |
| 2022 | 363.1 | +5.7% |
| 2021 | 343.4 | +2.6% |
| 2020 | 334.8 | +2.8% |
| 2019 | 325.6 | +3.3% |
| 2018 | 315.2 | +3.3% |
| 2017 | 305.1 | +3.3% |
| 2016 | 295.4 | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 285.9 | +2.9% |
| 2014 | 277.8 | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 270.7 | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 264.8 | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 259.6 | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 256.6 | 0.0% |
| 2009 | 256.6 | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 252.4 | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 246.2 | +3.4% |
| 2006 | 238.2 | +3.5% |
| 2005 | 230.2 | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 224.9 | +2.3% |
| 2003 | 219.9 | +2.4% |
| 2002 | 214.7 | +4.1% |
| 2001 | 206.3 | +3.8% |
| 2000 | 198.7 | +3.0% |
| 1999 | 192.9 | +2.7% |
| 1998 | 187.8 | +3.2% |
| 1997 | 181.9 | — |
*The 2025 annual average reflects the eleven published months — October 2025 was never collected because of the federal government shutdown.
Owners' equivalent rent inflation by region & metro area
Latest year-over-year change in each area’s own index. Many metro series are published bimonthly, so the “as of” month can trail the national index. Index levels are not comparable across areas — each series measures change over time from its own base period.
| Area | Year over year | As of |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. city average | +3.2% | July 2026 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | +1.3% | July 2026 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | +3.4% | July 2026 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | +3.9% | July 2026 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | +4.4% | July 2026 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | +1.1% | July 2026 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | +2.7% | July 2026 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | +2.8% | July 2026 |
| East North Central | +3.9% | July 2026 |
| East South Central | +5.2% | July 2026 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | -0.6% | July 2026 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | +3.6% | July 2026 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | +3.1% | July 2026 |
| Middle Atlantic | +4.3% | July 2026 |
| Midwest | +4.2% | July 2026 |
| Midwest - Size Class A | +4.2% | July 2026 |
| Midwest - Size Class B/C | +4.2% | July 2026 |
| Minneapolis-St.Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | +4.8% | July 2026 |
| Mountain | +2.1% | July 2026 |
| New England | +4.0% | July 2026 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | +4.9% | July 2026 |
| Northeast | +4.2% | July 2026 |
| Northeast - Size Class A | +4.7% | July 2026 |
| Northeast - Size Class B/C | +3.6% | July 2026 |
| Pacific | +2.8% | July 2026 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | +4.7% | July 2026 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 0.0% | July 2026 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | +2.7% | July 2026 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | +2.0% | July 2026 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | +2.7% | July 2026 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | +2.2% | July 2026 |
| Size Class A | +3.1% | July 2026 |
| Size Class B/C | +3.3% | July 2026 |
| South | +2.7% | July 2026 |
| South - Size Class A | +1.9% | July 2026 |
| South - Size Class B/C | +3.2% | July 2026 |
| South Atlantic | +2.7% | July 2026 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | +4.5% | July 2026 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | +2.0% | July 2026 |
| Urban Alaska | +3.6% | July 2026 |
| Urban Hawaii | +4.6% | July 2026 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | +3.1% | July 2026 |
| West | +2.6% | July 2026 |
| West - Size Class A | +2.6% | July 2026 |
| West - Size Class B/C | +2.6% | July 2026 |
| West North Central | +4.7% | July 2026 |
| West South Central | +1.5% | July 2026 |
Owners' equivalent rent inflation — FAQ
What is the current Owners' equivalent rent inflation rate?+
As of July 2026, the CPI-U index for Owners' equivalent rent of residences is up 3.2% from a year earlier (not seasonally adjusted). Month over month, the seasonally adjusted index moved +0.3% in July 2026.
When was Owners' equivalent rent inflation highest since 1997?+
By annual averages, the biggest increase since 1997 came in 2023, when the Owners' equivalent rent of residences index rose 7.5% over 2022.
Is Owners' equivalent rent inflation higher than overall inflation?+
As of July 2026, the Owners' equivalent rent of residences index is up 3.2% year over year, versus up 3.4% for overall inflation (all items CPI-U). That is a slower increase than overall inflation (all items CPI-U) — prices in this category are still rising, just less quickly.
Why is October 2025 missing from the Owners' equivalent rent data?+
October 2025 is missing from every CPI series — the federal government shutdown halted collection and the month was never published. Charts show a gap, and year-over-year and month-over-month figures skip any comparison touching the missing month; values are never interpolated.
Data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). pumsdata is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by BLS.