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The cost of living index of Bakersfield Metro Area (CA) was 96 for all in 2017. The cost of living index of Fresno Metro Area (CA) was 96 for all in 2017.

Cost of Living

Overall Cost of Living

Cost of Goods

Cost of Rents

Other Costs

The cost of living index measures the difference in the price levels of goods and services across regions. The average cost of living index in the U.S. is 100, with higher values corresponding to costlier goods and services. Data is available for U.S. states and metropolitan areas.

Above charts are based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis | Data Source | ODN Dataset | API - Notes:

1. ODN datasets and APIs are subject to change and may differ in format from the original source data in order to provide a user-friendly experience on this site.

2. To build your own apps using this data, see the ODN Dataset and API links.

3. If you use this derived data in an app, we ask that you provide a link somewhere in your applications to the Open Data Network with a citation that states: "Data for this application was provided by the Open Data Network" where "Open Data Network" links to http://opendatanetwork.com. Where an application has a region specific module, we ask that you add an additional line that states: "Data about REGIONX was provided by the Open Data Network." where REGIONX is an HREF with a name for a geographical region like "Seattle, WA" and the link points to this page URL, e.g. http://opendatanetwork.com/region/1600000US5363000/Seattle_WA

Economy and Cost of Living Datasets Involving Bakersfield Metro Area (CA) or Fresno Metro Area (CA)

  • API

    Vital Signs: Rent Payments – by city (2022)

    data.bayareametro.gov | Last Updated 2023-06-20T17:48:33.000Z

    VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Rent Payments (EC8) FULL MEASURE NAME Median rent payment LAST UPDATED January 2023 DESCRIPTION Rent payments refer to the cost of leasing an apartment or home and serves as a measure of housing costs for individuals who do not own a home. The data reflect the median monthly rent paid by Bay Area households across apartments and homes of various sizes and various levels of quality. This differs from advertised rents for available apartments, which usually are higher. Note that rent can be presented using nominal or real (inflation-adjusted) dollar values; data are presented inflation-adjusted to reflect changes in household purchasing power over time. DATA SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau: Decennial Census - https://nhgis.org Count 2 (1970) Form STF1 (1980-1990) Form SF3a (2000) U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey - https://data.census.gov/ Form B25058 (2005-2021; median contract rent) Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index - https://www.bls.gov/data/ 1970-2021 CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Rent data reflects median rent payments rather than list rents (refer to measure definition above). American Community Survey 1-year data is used for larger geographies – Bay counties and most metropolitan area counties – while smaller geographies rely upon 5-year rolling average data due to their smaller sample sizes. Note that 2020 data uses the 5-year estimates because the ACS did not collect 1-year data for 2020. 1970 Census data for median rent payments has been imputed from quintiles using methodology from California Department of Finance as the source data only provided the mean, rather than the median, monthly rent. Metro area boundaries reflects today’s metro area definitions by county for consistency, rather than historical metro area boundaries. Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how rent payments have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of CPI itself.

  • API

    Vital Signs: Home Prices by City (2022)

    data.bayareametro.gov | Last Updated 2023-06-20T01:10:09.000Z

    VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Home Prices (EC7) FULL MEASURE NAME Home Prices LAST UPDATED December 2022 DESCRIPTION Home prices refer to the cost of purchasing one’s own house or condominium. While a significant share of residents may choose to rent, home prices represent a primary driver of housing affordability in a given region, county or city. DATA SOURCE Zillow: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) - http://www.zillow.com/research/data/ 2000-2021 California Department of Finance: E-4 Historical Population Estimates for Cities, Counties, and the State - https://dof.ca.gov/forecasting/demographics/estimates/ 2000-2021 US Census Population and Housing Unit Estimates - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html 2000-2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index - http://data.bls.gov 2000-2021 US Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/zctas.html 2020 Census Blocks CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Housing price estimates at the regional-, county-, city- and zip code-level come from analysis of individual home sales by Zillow based upon transaction records. Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) is a smoothed, seasonally adjusted measure of the typical home value and market changes across a given region and housing type. It reflects the typical value for homes in the 35th to 65th percentile range. ZHVI is computed from public record transaction data as reported by counties. All standard real estate transactions are included in this metric, including REO sales and auctions. Zillow makes a substantial effort to remove transactions not typically considered a standard sale. Examples of these include bank takeovers of foreclosed properties, title transfers after a death or divorce and non arms-length transactions. Zillow defines all homes as single-family residential, condominium and co-operative homes with a county record. Single-family residences are detached, which means the home is an individual structure with its own lot. Condominiums are units that can be owned in a multi-unit complex, such as an apartment building. Co-operative homes are slightly different from condominiums in that the homeowners own shares in the corporation that owns the building, not the actual units themselves. For metropolitan area comparison values, the Bay Area metro area’s median home sale price is the population-weighted average of the nine counties’ median home prices. Data is adjusted for inflation using Bureau of Labor Statistics metropolitan statistical area (MSA)-specific series. Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how home prices have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of the CPI itself.

  • API

    Vital Signs: Rent Payments – by tract (2022)

    data.bayareametro.gov | Last Updated 2023-06-20T17:48:34.000Z

    VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Rent Payments (EC8) FULL MEASURE NAME Median rent payment LAST UPDATED January 2023 DESCRIPTION Rent payments refer to the cost of leasing an apartment or home and serves as a measure of housing costs for individuals who do not own a home. The data reflect the median monthly rent paid by Bay Area households across apartments and homes of various sizes and various levels of quality. This differs from advertised rents for available apartments, which usually are higher. Note that rent can be presented using nominal or real (inflation-adjusted) dollar values; data are presented inflation-adjusted to reflect changes in household purchasing power over time. DATA SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau: Decennial Census - https://nhgis.org Count 2 (1970) Form STF1 (1980-1990) Form SF3a (2000) U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey - https://data.census.gov/ Form B25058 (2005-2021; median contract rent) Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index - https://www.bls.gov/data/ 1970-2021 CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Rent data reflects median rent payments rather than list rents (refer to measure definition above). American Community Survey 1-year data is used for larger geographies – Bay counties and most metropolitan area counties – while smaller geographies rely upon 5-year rolling average data due to their smaller sample sizes. Note that 2020 data uses the 5-year estimates because the ACS did not collect 1-year data for 2020. 1970 Census data for median rent payments has been imputed from quintiles using methodology from California Department of Finance as the source data only provided the mean, rather than the median, monthly rent. Metro area boundaries reflects today’s metro area definitions by county for consistency, rather than historical metro area boundaries. Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how rent payments have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of CPI itself.

  • API

    Vital Signs: Home Prices by County (2022)

    data.bayareametro.gov | Last Updated 2023-06-20T01:10:08.000Z

    VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Home Prices (EC7) FULL MEASURE NAME Home Prices LAST UPDATED December 2022 DESCRIPTION Home prices refer to the cost of purchasing one’s own house or condominium. While a significant share of residents may choose to rent, home prices represent a primary driver of housing affordability in a given region, county or city. DATA SOURCE Zillow: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) - http://www.zillow.com/research/data/ 2000-2021 California Department of Finance: E-4 Historical Population Estimates for Cities, Counties, and the State - https://dof.ca.gov/forecasting/demographics/estimates/ 2000-2021 US Census Population and Housing Unit Estimates - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html 2000-2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index - http://data.bls.gov 2000-2021 US Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/zctas.html 2020 Census Blocks CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Housing price estimates at the regional-, county-, city- and zip code-level come from analysis of individual home sales by Zillow based upon transaction records. Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) is a smoothed, seasonally adjusted measure of the typical home value and market changes across a given region and housing type. It reflects the typical value for homes in the 35th to 65th percentile range. ZHVI is computed from public record transaction data as reported by counties. All standard real estate transactions are included in this metric, including REO sales and auctions. Zillow makes a substantial effort to remove transactions not typically considered a standard sale. Examples of these include bank takeovers of foreclosed properties, title transfers after a death or divorce and non arms-length transactions. Zillow defines all homes as single-family residential, condominium and co-operative homes with a county record. Single-family residences are detached, which means the home is an individual structure with its own lot. Condominiums are units that can be owned in a multi-unit complex, such as an apartment building. Co-operative homes are slightly different from condominiums in that the homeowners own shares in the corporation that owns the building, not the actual units themselves. For metropolitan area comparison values, the Bay Area metro area’s median home sale price is the population-weighted average of the nine counties’ median home prices. Data is adjusted for inflation using Bureau of Labor Statistics metropolitan statistical area (MSA)-specific series. Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how home prices have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of the CPI itself.

  • API

    Vital Signs: Home Prices by Metro Area (2022)

    data.bayareametro.gov | Last Updated 2023-06-20T01:10:10.000Z

    VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Home Prices (EC7) FULL MEASURE NAME Home Prices LAST UPDATED December 2022 DESCRIPTION Home prices refer to the cost of purchasing one’s own house or condominium. While a significant share of residents may choose to rent, home prices represent a primary driver of housing affordability in a given region, county or city. DATA SOURCE Zillow: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) - http://www.zillow.com/research/data/ 2000-2021 California Department of Finance: E-4 Historical Population Estimates for Cities, Counties, and the State - https://dof.ca.gov/forecasting/demographics/estimates/ 2000-2021 US Census Population and Housing Unit Estimates - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html 2000-2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index - http://data.bls.gov 2000-2021 US Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/zctas.html 2020 Census Blocks CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Housing price estimates at the regional-, county-, city- and zip code-level come from analysis of individual home sales by Zillow based upon transaction records. Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) is a smoothed, seasonally adjusted measure of the typical home value and market changes across a given region and housing type. It reflects the typical value for homes in the 35th to 65th percentile range. ZHVI is computed from public record transaction data as reported by counties. All standard real estate transactions are included in this metric, including REO sales and auctions. Zillow makes a substantial effort to remove transactions not typically considered a standard sale. Examples of these include bank takeovers of foreclosed properties, title transfers after a death or divorce and non arms-length transactions. Zillow defines all homes as single-family residential, condominium and co-operative homes with a county record. Single-family residences are detached, which means the home is an individual structure with its own lot. Condominiums are units that can be owned in a multi-unit complex, such as an apartment building. Co-operative homes are slightly different from condominiums in that the homeowners own shares in the corporation that owns the building, not the actual units themselves. For metropolitan area comparison values, the Bay Area metro area’s median home sale price is the population-weighted average of the nine counties’ median home prices. Data is adjusted for inflation using Bureau of Labor Statistics metropolitan statistical area (MSA)-specific series. Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how home prices have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of the CPI itself.

  • API

    Vital Signs: Home Prices - Bay Area (2022)

    data.bayareametro.gov | Last Updated 2023-06-20T01:10:07.000Z

    VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Home Prices (EC7) FULL MEASURE NAME Home Prices LAST UPDATED December 2022 DESCRIPTION Home prices refer to the cost of purchasing one’s own house or condominium. While a significant share of residents may choose to rent, home prices represent a primary driver of housing affordability in a given region, county or city. DATA SOURCE Zillow: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) - http://www.zillow.com/research/data/ 2000-2021 California Department of Finance: E-4 Historical Population Estimates for Cities, Counties, and the State - https://dof.ca.gov/forecasting/demographics/estimates/ 2000-2021 US Census Population and Housing Unit Estimates - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html 2000-2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index - http://data.bls.gov 2000-2021 US Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/zctas.html 2020 Census Blocks CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Housing price estimates at the regional-, county-, city- and zip code-level come from analysis of individual home sales by Zillow based upon transaction records. Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) is a smoothed, seasonally adjusted measure of the typical home value and market changes across a given region and housing type. It reflects the typical value for homes in the 35th to 65th percentile range. ZHVI is computed from public record transaction data as reported by counties. All standard real estate transactions are included in this metric, including REO sales and auctions. Zillow makes a substantial effort to remove transactions not typically considered a standard sale. Examples of these include bank takeovers of foreclosed properties, title transfers after a death or divorce and non arms-length transactions. Zillow defines all homes as single-family residential, condominium and co-operative homes with a county record. Single-family residences are detached, which means the home is an individual structure with its own lot. Condominiums are units that can be owned in a multi-unit complex, such as an apartment building. Co-operative homes are slightly different from condominiums in that the homeowners own shares in the corporation that owns the building, not the actual units themselves. For metropolitan area comparison values, the Bay Area metro area’s median home sale price is the population-weighted average of the nine counties’ median home prices. Data is adjusted for inflation using Bureau of Labor Statistics metropolitan statistical area (MSA)-specific series. Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how home prices have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of the CPI itself.

  • API

    Vital Signs: Home Prices by Zip Code (2022)

    data.bayareametro.gov | Last Updated 2023-06-20T01:10:10.000Z

    VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Home Prices (EC7) FULL MEASURE NAME Home Prices LAST UPDATED December 2022 DESCRIPTION Home prices refer to the cost of purchasing one’s own house or condominium. While a significant share of residents may choose to rent, home prices represent a primary driver of housing affordability in a given region, county or city. DATA SOURCE Zillow: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) - http://www.zillow.com/research/data/ 2000-2021 California Department of Finance: E-4 Historical Population Estimates for Cities, Counties, and the State - https://dof.ca.gov/forecasting/demographics/estimates/ 2000-2021 US Census Population and Housing Unit Estimates - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html 2000-2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index - http://data.bls.gov 2000-2021 US Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/zctas.html 2020 Census Blocks CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Housing price estimates at the regional-, county-, city- and zip code-level come from analysis of individual home sales by Zillow based upon transaction records. Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) is a smoothed, seasonally adjusted measure of the typical home value and market changes across a given region and housing type. It reflects the typical value for homes in the 35th to 65th percentile range. ZHVI is computed from public record transaction data as reported by counties. All standard real estate transactions are included in this metric, including REO sales and auctions. Zillow makes a substantial effort to remove transactions not typically considered a standard sale. Examples of these include bank takeovers of foreclosed properties, title transfers after a death or divorce and non arms-length transactions. Zillow defines all homes as single-family residential, condominium and co-operative homes with a county record. Single-family residences are detached, which means the home is an individual structure with its own lot. Condominiums are units that can be owned in a multi-unit complex, such as an apartment building. Co-operative homes are slightly different from condominiums in that the homeowners own shares in the corporation that owns the building, not the actual units themselves. For metropolitan area comparison values, the Bay Area metro area’s median home sale price is the population-weighted average of the nine counties’ median home prices. Data is adjusted for inflation using Bureau of Labor Statistics metropolitan statistical area (MSA)-specific series. Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how home prices have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of the CPI itself.

  • API

    Vital Signs: Rent Payments – by county (2022)

    data.bayareametro.gov | Last Updated 2023-06-20T17:48:32.000Z

    VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Rent Payments (EC8) FULL MEASURE NAME Median rent payment LAST UPDATED January 2023 DESCRIPTION Rent payments refer to the cost of leasing an apartment or home and serves as a measure of housing costs for individuals who do not own a home. The data reflect the median monthly rent paid by Bay Area households across apartments and homes of various sizes and various levels of quality. This differs from advertised rents for available apartments, which usually are higher. Note that rent can be presented using nominal or real (inflation-adjusted) dollar values; data are presented inflation-adjusted to reflect changes in household purchasing power over time. DATA SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau: Decennial Census - https://nhgis.org Count 2 (1970) Form STF1 (1980-1990) Form SF3a (2000) U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey - https://data.census.gov/ Form B25058 (2005-2021; median contract rent) Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index - https://www.bls.gov/data/ 1970-2021 CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Rent data reflects median rent payments rather than list rents (refer to measure definition above). American Community Survey 1-year data is used for larger geographies – Bay counties and most metropolitan area counties – while smaller geographies rely upon 5-year rolling average data due to their smaller sample sizes. Note that 2020 data uses the 5-year estimates because the ACS did not collect 1-year data for 2020. 1970 Census data for median rent payments has been imputed from quintiles using methodology from California Department of Finance as the source data only provided the mean, rather than the median, monthly rent. Metro area boundaries reflects today’s metro area definitions by county for consistency, rather than historical metro area boundaries. Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how rent payments have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of CPI itself.

  • API

    Vital Signs: Rent Payments – by metro (2022)

    data.bayareametro.gov | Last Updated 2023-06-20T17:48:34.000Z

    VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Rent Payments (EC8) FULL MEASURE NAME Median rent payment LAST UPDATED January 2023 DESCRIPTION Rent payments refer to the cost of leasing an apartment or home and serves as a measure of housing costs for individuals who do not own a home. The data reflect the median monthly rent paid by Bay Area households across apartments and homes of various sizes and various levels of quality. This differs from advertised rents for available apartments, which usually are higher. Note that rent can be presented using nominal or real (inflation-adjusted) dollar values; data are presented inflation-adjusted to reflect changes in household purchasing power over time. DATA SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau: Decennial Census - https://nhgis.org Count 2 (1970) Form STF1 (1980-1990) Form SF3a (2000) U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey - https://data.census.gov/ Form B25058 (2005-2021; median contract rent) Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index - https://www.bls.gov/data/ 1970-2021 CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Rent data reflects median rent payments rather than list rents (refer to measure definition above). American Community Survey 1-year data is used for larger geographies – Bay counties and most metropolitan area counties – while smaller geographies rely upon 5-year rolling average data due to their smaller sample sizes. Note that 2020 data uses the 5-year estimates because the ACS did not collect 1-year data for 2020. 1970 Census data for median rent payments has been imputed from quintiles using methodology from California Department of Finance as the source data only provided the mean, rather than the median, monthly rent. Metro area boundaries reflects today’s metro area definitions by county for consistency, rather than historical metro area boundaries. Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how rent payments have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of CPI itself.

  • API

    Vital Signs: Rent Payments – Bay Area (2022)

    data.bayareametro.gov | Last Updated 2023-06-20T17:48:32.000Z

    VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Rent Payments (EC8) FULL MEASURE NAME Median rent payment LAST UPDATED January 2023 DESCRIPTION Rent payments refer to the cost of leasing an apartment or home and serves as a measure of housing costs for individuals who do not own a home. The data reflect the median monthly rent paid by Bay Area households across apartments and homes of various sizes and various levels of quality. This differs from advertised rents for available apartments, which usually are higher. Note that rent can be presented using nominal or real (inflation-adjusted) dollar values; data are presented inflation-adjusted to reflect changes in household purchasing power over time. DATA SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau: Decennial Census - https://nhgis.org Count 2 (1970) Form STF1 (1980-1990) Form SF3a (2000) U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey - https://data.census.gov/ Form B25058 (2005-2021; median contract rent) Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index - https://www.bls.gov/data/ 1970-2021 CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Rent data reflects median rent payments rather than list rents (refer to measure definition above). American Community Survey 1-year data is used for larger geographies – Bay counties and most metropolitan area counties – while smaller geographies rely upon 5-year rolling average data due to their smaller sample sizes. Note that 2020 data uses the 5-year estimates because the ACS did not collect 1-year data for 2020. 1970 Census data for median rent payments has been imputed from quintiles using methodology from California Department of Finance as the source data only provided the mean, rather than the median, monthly rent. Metro area boundaries reflects today’s metro area definitions by county for consistency, rather than historical metro area boundaries. Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how rent payments have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of CPI itself.