Photo: Alexi Kostibas/Flickr
In 2014, the consumer price index in the United States rose 0.8 percent, the second lowest increase in inflation in the last 50 years (the lowest increase was 0.1 percent in 2008).
However, the cost of keeping a roof over your head increased at a rate not seen since before the recession. According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the shelter index rose 2.9 percent in 2014, its largest increase since 2007. The rent index rose even further, jumping up 3.4 percent.
We looked into the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) to see the differences in rent inflation for the major cities in the United States. This index measure looks specifically at the rent of a primary residence.
San Francisco saw the biggest increase, closely followed by its West Coast neighbor Seattle:
| Metro Area | Index Dec 2014 | Percent change from Dec 2013 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose | 359.353 | 6.0 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton | 302.513 | 5.9 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale | 265.083 | 5.7 |
| Houston-Galveston-Brazoria | 224.652 | 5.2 |
| Atlanta | 227.608 | 4.2 |
| Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County | 310.326 | 3.5 |
| Chicago-Gary-Kenosha | 301.381 | 3.0 |
| New York-Northern N.J.-Long Island | 353.288 | 2.9 |
| Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City | 284.866 | 2.3 |
| Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint | 228.227 | 1.7 |
