The average 30-year mortgage rate is back above 7%. But the mortgage is only part of the bill. From 2019 to 2025, the annual cost of owning a home rose 39%, from $20,618 to $28,596, while consumer prices rose 26%. The fastest-growing line item was not the mortgage at all: emergency repair costs jumped 175%.

In the Data Crunch, How Much Have Homeownership Costs Changed Over Time?, students will compare six homeownership costs in 2019 and 2025, from principal and interest to insurance and emergency repairs, and answer questions about how those increases stack up against the consumer-price index.

Click these links to access the article source, data crunch, and answer key

Full Wall Street Journal Source Article | NGPF Data Crunch + Answer Key

This data crunch pairs well with NGPF’s Buying a House Unit.

This resource was created through NGPF’s partnership with Dow Jones, bringing high quality financial journalism into personal finance classrooms across the country for free.

Every WSJ Wednesday, NGPF will highlight a classroom-ready article, video, or data crunch resource from the Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, or Barron’s, including a student guide, discussion questions, and an answer key.

About the Author

Yonathan Tadesse

Yonathan is a Dallas-based Curriculum Designer at NGPF with 12 years of experience as a high school math, college transition, and financial literacy teacher. An award-winning educator, he has a track record of launching innovative programs at the high school level that expand access and opportunity for students. He is a graduate of Emory University and is passionate about advancing financial education for all students. Outside of work, Yonathan loves spending time with his wife and two kids, working out, playing chess and poker, and learning new things.