Airfares Are Up 25.5% From a Year Ago, Government Data Shows

Federal price data shows travel costs climbing broadly in July, with flights outpacing hotels, dining and rental cars.

By THRYV Travel Desk·Published August 17, 2026·Updated August 17, 2026·3 min read

Airfares Are Up 25.5% From a Year Ago, Government Data Shows

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The takeaway

Airfares rose 25.5% in July compared with a year earlier, outpacing every other travel category, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data reported by NerdWallet on August 12. Overall travel costs are up 9% year-over-year, driven largely by reduced airline competition and unbundled pricing, while rental car costs actually fell 3.9% over the same period.

Airfares climbed 25.5% in July compared with the same month last year, far outpacing every other travel expense tracked by the government, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index data reported by NerdWallet on August 12.

How travel costs compare

Overall travel costs are up 9% year-over-year. Airfares are the clear outlier: lodging rose just 2.6%, dining out climbed 3.4%, and entertainment such as movies and concerts increased 2.3%. Rental car prices actually fell 3.9% over the same period, the only major travel category to get cheaper.

The longer trend

Measured against pre-pandemic prices, overall travel costs are up 18% since July 2019. Looking back a full decade, airfares have risen a comparatively modest 9.8% since July 2016, while hotel prices are up 15.2% and restaurant prices have jumped 50.9% — a reminder that this year's airfare spike is a sharper, more recent trend rather than a decade-long pattern.

Why fares are rising

NerdWallet's analysis attributes the jump largely to airlines' pricing power: with less low-cost competition in many markets, unbundled fares and fewer discount seats give carriers more room to raise base prices even when demand softens elsewhere in the economy.

What travelers can do

With airfares rising faster than any other travel cost, booking early, staying flexible on dates, and comparing nearby airports matters more this year than in most recent summers — even small savings on airfare now outweigh what you'd typically save by shopping around on hotels or rental cars.

Sources

This article is original writing by THRYV. We link to primary reporting and official documents rather than reproducing them.

Travel Price Tracker: August 2026 — NerdWallet

Why you can trust this article

Written and edited in-house by the THRYV Travel Desk. We do not republish or reword agency copy, and we do not invent quotes, statistics, testimonials or ratings. Where figures move frequently, we point you to the primary release rather than printing a number that will be out of date. Advertising and affiliate partnerships have no influence on our reporting — see our editorial standards, fact-checking policy and affiliate disclosure. Spotted an error? Write to newsroom@thryv-news.com.

General information only. Not personalised financial, medical or legal advice.

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