Shelter Prices Up 3% in the Year to August 2026: Rent and Housing Cost Statistics
Shelter prices were 3% higher than a year earlier in August 2026, down from a rate of 3.6% in August 2025, by our calculation from the seasonally adjusted BLS Shelter CPI. On our seasonally adjusted basis, that is the lowest 12-month rate since August 2021. Dated renter cost-burden estimates, Energy CPI, and an economy-wide BEA energy-spending ratio provide separate context.
What Do the Shelter and Energy Measures Show?
Shelter prices were 3% higher than a year earlier in August 2026, down from a rate of 3.6% in August 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index for shelter (12-month change calculated by American Default from the seasonally adjusted index). On our seasonally adjusted basis, that is the lowest 12-month rate since August 2021. Shelter covers rent, the rent-equivalent value of owned homes, hotels and tenants' insurance; it does not include home prices or mortgage payments. The accepted source stores year-over-year rates, so this page does not derive a cumulative increase from those rates or treat them as an individual lease payment.
Separately, aggregate energy spending equaled 3.7% of aggregate disposable personal income in Q2 2026, up from 3.4% in Q1 2026. That economy-wide ratio includes gasoline as well as utilities; it does not measure a renter's utility bill and cannot be added to the ACS renter cost-burden share. For mortgage-side metrics including new-house sales prices, FHA delinquency, and HELOC balances, see the housing affordability page. American Default treats the measures here as context alongside the American Distress Index, not as one household sequence.
Key Statistics at a Glance
Shelter CPI and the aggregate energy-spending ratio are context rather than direct inputs to the American Distress Index. They do not identify the same households as saving, delinquency, hardship, or default measures and do not establish a fixed order among them. The index currently reads 47.0 (Typical). The composite itself sits higher than 44% of all published quarters since 2005. The cost-of-living statistics page compares additional national price categories.
How Fast Are Shelter Prices Rising According to CPI?
The BLS Shelter CPI (seasonally adjusted series CUSR0000SAH1) measures price change for rent of primary residence, owners' equivalent rent, hotels and tenants' insurance. In August 2026, shelter prices were 3% higher than a year earlier. On our seasonally adjusted basis, that is the lowest 12-month rate since August 2021. A rate above zero means shelter prices are still higher than a year earlier, even when the rate slows.
In 2019 the rate averaged 3.4%. The year-over-year series measures a 12-month rate of change, not the price level, a cumulative change since 2019, or the terms of an individual lease. We compute it from the seasonally adjusted index, so it can differ slightly from the 12-month figure BLS headlines, which uses the unadjusted index.
Shelter CPI is also different from a current asking-rent index. This page does not infer a fixed lag from private listings or use the latest Shelter CPI observation to forecast a future rent or CPI reading.
Shelter CPI Year-over-Year Change (Monthly, %)
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index — Shelter (CUSR0000SAH1, monthly, seasonally adjusted); 12-month change calculated by American Default.
Full data and trend: Shelter CPI indicator page
What Share of Income Goes to Energy Spending Nationally?
The energy-spending ratio divides aggregate energy personal consumption expenditures by aggregate disposable personal income. The spending side includes gasoline and other fuels as well as electricity and natural gas. In Q2 2026 it was 3.7%, up from 3.4% in Q1 2026. That is the highest share since Q3 2023. The latest quarter is a first estimate that BEA revises.
In 2019 the ratio averaged 3.7%, and its 2022 high was 4.7% (Q2 2022). The aggregate ratio does not show the distribution across income groups, renters and homeowners, housing types, or regions. It is not a HUD-style housing cost burden, and it cannot be added to an individual household's rent share without compatible household-level data.
Energy Spending as a Share of Disposable Income (Quarterly, %)
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data retrieved via FRED (DNRGRC1Q027SBEA / DSPI × 100, quarterly), computed by American Default.
Full data and trend: Energy spending as a share of disposable income (The Energy Squeeze)
How Volatile Are Energy Prices?
Energy CPI measures the change in consumer energy prices — gasoline and other motor fuel, electricity, natural gas, and fuel oil combined. In August 2026, energy prices were 16% higher than a year earlier, up from a rate of 0.4% in August 2025, by our calculation from the seasonally adjusted index.
In 2022 the 12-month rate reached 41.5% (June 2022). Energy CPI is a price index; it does not measure a household's energy spending, identify who pays a utility bill, or establish how energy prices affected wages, savings, or other obligations.
Energy CPI Year-over-Year Change (Monthly, %)
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index — Energy (CUSR0000SA0E, monthly, seasonally adjusted); 12-month change calculated by American Default.
Full data and trend: Energy CPI indicator page
Can These Measures Compare Renters With Homeowners?
Not by themselves. Shelter CPI includes both rent of primary residence and owners' equivalent rent, while the ACS cost-burden estimates cited here describe renter households in 2022. Neither measure supplies a matched renter-versus-homeowner financial-stress comparison.
For purchase-market context, the Census median sales price of new houses sold was $410,700 in Q2 2026, little changed from $416,100 a year earlier. MSPUS excludes existing-home sales and does not describe the price available to a particular renter, the amount of a needed down payment, or the wealth outcome of renters and homeowners.
For separately sourced mortgage-side measures — mortgage delinquency, FHA performance, HELOC balances, and mortgage debt service ratios — see the housing affordability statistics page.
Different Measures Do Not Create a Fixed Sequence
The ACS renter cost-burden threshold classifies housing costs relative to income in a defined survey population. Shelter CPI measures national price change, and the energy ratio uses aggregate expenditures and income. Those denominators cannot be combined into a household budget or used to assign a renter to a later debt outcome.
Saving, hardship withdrawals, skipped payments, and delinquency come from separate sources and populations. Comparisons may provide context, but these page-level observations do not establish a universal causal order or lead time.
Explore savings rate statistics — where the buffer stands now →Data Sources and Methodology
CPI measurement basis: Every CPI reading and historical comparison on this page uses its source-owned basis unless explicitly identified otherwise: Year-over-year percent change computed from the seasonally adjusted BLS Shelter CPI (CUSR0000SAH1); seasonally adjusted values may be revised; Year-over-year percent change computed from the seasonally adjusted BLS Energy CPI (CUSR0000SA0E); seasonally adjusted values may be revised; Cumulative percent change since January 2020 computed from the seasonally adjusted BLS Food-at-Home CPI (CUSR0000SAF11); seasonally adjusted values may be revised.
BLS Consumer Price Index — Shelter
Series CUSR0000SAH1. Tracks price change for rent of primary residence, owners' equivalent rent, hotels and tenants' insurance. Monthly, seasonally adjusted.
BLS Consumer Price Index — Energy
Series CUSR0000SA0E. Covers gasoline and other motor fuel, electricity, natural gas, and fuel oil. Monthly, seasonally adjusted.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Energy personal consumption expenditure as a share of disposable personal income, computed by American Default from U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis series DNRGRC1Q027SBEA and DSPI retrieved via FRED; BEA does not publish the ratio itself. It is not a renter-only or household-level utility burden. Quarterly.
U.S. Census Bureau data retrieved via FRED
Median Sales Price of New Houses Sold (MSPUS). Used only as new-house purchase-market context; it excludes existing-home sales and is not an all-home median. Quarterly, not seasonally adjusted. American Community Survey for cost-burden thresholds and renter household demographics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Shelter CPI say about rent changes?
The BLS Shelter CPI covers rent of primary residence, owners' equivalent rent, hotels and tenants' insurance. Shelter prices were 3% higher than a year earlier in August 2026, down from a rate of 3.6% in August 2025, by our calculation from the seasonally adjusted index. On our seasonally adjusted basis, that is the lowest 12-month rate since August 2021. Shelter is not rent alone: rent of primary residence is about a fifth of shelter's weight, and most of the rest is owners' equivalent rent, which no homeowner pays. The accepted ADR source contains year-over-year rates, not the underlying index levels required to calculate a cumulative change since 2019. The full stored series is shown in the Shelter CPI indicator.
Is rent inflation slowing down?
This page tracks Shelter CPI, which is broader than rent. Shelter prices were 3% higher than a year earlier in August 2026, down from a rate of 3.6% in August 2025. On our seasonally adjusted basis, that is the lowest 12-month rate since August 2021. A rate above zero means shelter prices are still higher than a year earlier, even when the rate slows. BLS publishes a separate rent of primary residence index for renters. The 12-month shelter figures for November 2025 through March 2026 ran low because BLS carried October 2025 rents forward, so they are never used as a comparison base here. None of these rates shows the change in any individual lease.
What percentage of income do renters spend on housing?
The Joint Center for Housing Studies' America's Rental Housing 2024, citing 2022 American Community Survey data, reports 22.4 million renter households (50%) were cost-burdened and 12.1 million were severely cost-burdened (paying 50% or more of income on housing). Among renters earning under $30,000, it reports 83% were cost-burdened and 65% were severely cost-burdened. The separate energy ratio on this page is economy-wide, not an additional renter-household percentage that can be added to those ACS figures. For homeownership measures, see the housing affordability statistics page.
How do rent costs compare to mortgage costs?
Renters and homeowners face different cost structures, and neither Shelter CPI nor MSPUS supports a universal renter-versus-owner cost comparison. Fixed-rate mortgage principal and interest generally do not change with inflation, while leases and other owner costs vary. For limited purchase-market context, the Census median sales price of new houses sold was $410,700 in Q2 2026, little changed from $416,100 a year earlier. MSPUS excludes existing-home sales and is not the median price of all homes. The housing affordability page tracks mortgage-side measures separately.
How do housing costs connect to the American Distress Index?
Shelter CPI, renter cost-burden estimates, and the aggregate energy-spending ratio are context rather than direct inputs to the American Distress Index. They cover different populations and cannot establish a fixed sequence into saving, delinquency, or default. The index currently reads 47.0 (Typical). The composite itself sits higher than 44% of all published quarters since 2005. For the index inputs and methodology, see the American Distress Index page.