Inflation has been the hot topic of the past six months. While there’s no doubt that rates are still sky-high across the U.S., it’s rising more quickly in some places than others.
Lucky for us, Chicago is not one of them. That’s according to the newly published report by WalletHub: Cities Where Inflation is Rising the Most.
To determine this, and thus pinpoint where inflation is the biggest problem, WalletHub compared 22 major MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) across two key metrics involving the Consumer Price Index. The Consumer Price Index was compared 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.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin was determined the metro with the sixth lowest rise in inflation, with a 1.20% CPI change from last month to two months before and a 5% change from last month to one year ago. These are good numbers compared to other metros in the U.S.—only behind Washington-Arlington-Alexandria; Anchorage, AK; Urban Honolulu, HI; and Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington.
And the metro where inflation is rising the most? Perhaps surprisingly, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, based on the report, followed by Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale tied at No. 2.
The current inflation is telling, and while experts have differing opinions regarding its effect on the future of the economy, many can agree, in time, we’ll be just fine.
Pavlina R. Tcherneva, Associate Professor of Economics—Bard College; Expert, Institute for New Economic Thinking, shared her thoughts: “On a 12-month basis, inflation growth has been slowing down. Energy costs are decelerating and other items such as used cars and trucks and apparel have been declining. With additional investment in logistical support and a decline in transportation services, I believe we will see declines in other items that impact families’ pocketbooks, such as food.”
