This Texas city has the biggest inflation problem in the country, study says
The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area has the worst inflation in the U.S., a new study found.
Personal finance website WalletHub compared 23 major metropolitan statistical areas using the Consumer Price Index change from the latest month and two months before, as well as the latest month and one year ago.
The Dallas metro topped WalletHub’s list with a CPI of 5.3% from a year ago and 0.9% from two months ago. The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro followed with a CPI of 5.7% from a year ago and -0.2% from two months ago. The New York-Newark-Jersey City metro took third with the same measures at 3.1% and 1.10%.
The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metro area also made the list at No. 10, with a CPI of 4.5% a year ago and -0.1% two months ago.
Source: WalletHub
Inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.1% in 2022. Nationally, the CPI is at 3.1% as of January 2024, according to data released Tuesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“The fall in inflation over the past year is suggesting that supply-related issues caused by the pandemic have been gradually fading,” Aeimit Lakdawala, assistant professor in the economics department at Wake Forest University, told WalletHub.
Food at home increased 1.2% and food away from home jumped up 5.1% over the last year. Gas prices are down 6.4%, according to the bureau. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is at 3.9%.
“While in late 2022 and early 2023, there was a lot of concern about the economy slowing down in 2023 and 2024, the economy has remained remarkably resilient,” Lakdawala said. “Thus, the future of the economy looks bright with a strong labor market and low recent inflation.”
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