The U.S. inflation rate hit a 40-year high after the pandemic but has since cooled significantly due to factors like the Federal Reserve rate hikes. The year-over-year inflation rate sits at 3.5% as of March 2024, which is still above the target rate of 2%. Various factors, such as the war in Ukraine and labor shortages, drive this higher than average inflation. Despite the country not meeting its target yet, the Federal Reserve may even cut interest rates this year rather than raising them further.
Inflation rates differ across the U.S., though. To determine how inflation is impacting people in different parts of the country, WalletHub compared 23 major MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) across two key metrics related to the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation. We compared the Consumer Price Index for the latest month for which BLS data is available to two months prior and one year prior to get a snapshot of how inflation has changed in the short and long term.
Main Findings
Cities With the Biggest Inflation Problems
Overall Rank | MSA | Total Score | Consumer Price Index Change (Latest month vs 2 months before) |
Consumer Price Index Change (Latest month vs 1 year ago) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Urban Honolulu, HI | 92.19 | 1.50% | 4.80% |
2 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 90.63 | 1.40% | 4.90% |
3 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 81.25 | 1.40% | 4.30% |
4 | St. Louis, MO-IL | 76.56 | 1.60% | 3.60% |
5 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 75.00 | 0.90% | 4.90% |
5 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 75.00 | 1.20% | 4.30% |
7 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 73.44 | 1.60% | 3.40% |
8 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 70.31 | 1.20% | 4.00% |
9 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 68.75 | 1.50% | 3.30% |
10 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 64.06 | 1.70% | 2.60% |
11 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 62.50 | 1.30% | 3.30% |
12 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 56.25 | 0.90% | 3.70% |
12 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 56.25 | 1.00% | 3.50% |
14 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 54.69 | 1.00% | 3.40% |
14 | San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | 54.69 | 1.50% | 2.40% |
16 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 53.13 | 1.10% | 3.10% |
17 | San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | 51.56 | 0.80% | 3.60% |
18 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 42.19 | 0.60% | 3.40% |
19 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | 35.94 | 0.70% | 2.80% |
20 | Minneapolis-St.Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 31.25 | 0.60% | 2.70% |
21 | Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 26.56 | 0.70% | 2.20% |
22 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 20.31 | 0.20% | 2.80% |
23 | Anchorage, AK | 0.00 | 0.10% | 1.70% |
- Highest
- 1. Baltimore, MD
- T-2. Philadelphia, PA
- T-2. St. Louis, MO
- T-4. Boston, MA
- T-4. Honolulu, HI
- T-4. San Francisco, CA
- Lowest
- T-18. Denver, CO
- T-18. Phoenix, AZ
- T-20. New York, NY
- T-20. Minneapolis, MN
- 22. Detroit, MI
- 23. Anchorage, AK
- Highest
- T-1. Dallas, TX
- T-1. Miami, FL
- 3. Honolulu, HI
- T-4. Riverside, CA
- T-4. Seattle, WA
- Lowest
- 19. Minneapolis, MN
- 20. Baltimore, MD
- 21. San Francisco, CA
- 22. Phoenix, AZ
- 23. Anchorage, AK
Ask the Experts
To gain a deeper understanding of current inflation trends and what they mean for our economy, WalletHub turned to a panel of experts. Click on the pictures of the experts below to read their bios and responses to the following key questions:
- What are the main factors currently driving inflation?
- What can be done to continue to slow down inflation?
- Is raising interest rates a good or bad solution to control inflation?
- What does the current inflation rate tell us about the future of the economy?
Ask the Experts
Methodology
In order to determine how inflation is impacting people in different cities, WalletHub compared 23 MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) across two key metrics involving the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation. The metrics are listed below, along with their corresponding weights. We then determined each MSA’s weighted average across the metrics and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.
For each MSA in the sample, we used the latest data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For some MSAs, there is a one-month lag on the data available.
- Consumer Price Index Change (Latest month vs 2 months before): Full Weight (~50.00 Points)
- Consumer Price Index Change (Latest month vs 1 year ago): Full Weight (~50.00 Points)
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
WalletHub experts are widely quoted. Contact our media team to schedule an interview.