The US cities suffering most from inflation
The metro areas of Phoenix, Atlanta, and Miami are seeing the highest year-over-year price increases among 23 big cities in the US.
Photo by Jim Hankey/Getty Images
- The year-over-year inflation rate is relatively high in the metro area of Phoenix, based on data for 23 metros.
- Inflation rates are relatively low in the metro areas of San Francisco, New York, and DC.
- The following chart shows what the Consumer Price Index looks like for 23 different metro areas.
Inflation is hitting Americans' wallets across the country, but Phoenix residents are seeing especially nasty price increases.
US inflation data out last Thursday showed inflation remains elevated. According to September data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US inflation increased year-over-year at a 8.2% rate, just below August's year-over-year change of 8.3%.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also provides inflation data for 23 of the nation's biggest metro areas, and the following chart shows year-over-year inflation rates for those cities. Places with an asterisk next to them in the chart have August values while those without an asterisk use September figures.
With a year-over-year increase of 13.0% in August, Phoenix is just one of the metro areas where inflation is higher than the national rate.
The 12-month change in August for the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metro area is also higher than the year-over-year change of 12.3% in June. In this metro area, prices for gas and shelter are especially much higher than they were a year ago, with the 12-month percent change for shelter sitting at 19.0% in August and motor fuel up 33.5%.
Prices are also soaring in Atlanta based on data as of August 2022 with year-over-year rates for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area over 11% in both June and August.
While Phoenix and Atlanta are two places with year-over-year changes in the double digits, other places are seeing smaller increases in their consumer price indexes. The metro area of San Francisco had the smallest year-over-year change among the 23 places at 5.7%.
It's not all good news for the Bay Area, however. Taking a closer look at the CPI for this metro area, gasoline saw a year-over-year percent change of 21.0% in August. New vehicle prices were up 17.2%.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also has CPI data for a few other California metro areas, including Los Angeles. Gas prices in this metro area are higher than they were a year ago; the CPI for all types of gas was 25.3% higher than September 2021 in this metro. Overall, the year-over-year percent increase in the CPI for this metro area was 7.8%.
Inflation continues to rage across the country, and the Fed will almost certainly continue its aggressive fight against rising prices.
"Both top-line and core inflation remain hot, sticky and elevated, which implies that the path of monetary policy demands another supersized rate increase of 75 basis points at the Federal Reserve's November meeting," Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, said in a statement.
Americans across the nation are being affected by inflation, whether in the metro areas where inflation is above the national rate or not. For some, it means they're interested in buying store brand items or looking for deals and discounts. Some retirees may also apply for jobs and head back to the workforce due to rising prices. And based on different survey results, inflation is a main issue for voters ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
"This is a time of difficult choices, economic pain and higher interest rates, and it will last a longer period than anyone will be comfortable with," Brusuelas said in the statement.
Is inflation impacting your career, shopping habits, or savings? Is it affecting you in some other way? Email this reporter at mhoff@insider.com.