.png)
3 months ago
4
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 2.7% as of June 2025, which is the highest since February. Various factors, such as the war in Ukraine, labor shortages and recent tariffs, drive this higher than average inflation. Despite the country not meeting its target yet, the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates at the level set in December 2024.
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
| 1 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 84.72 | 1.40% | 2.70% |
| 2 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 77.35 | 1.10% | 3.00% |
| 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 72.76 | 0.80% | 3.50% |
| 4 | St. Louis, MO-IL | 70.41 | 1.10% | 2.50% |
| 5 | San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | 69.23 | 0.60% | 3.80% |
| 6 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 68.91 | 0.70% | 3.50% |
| 7 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | 62.39 | 1.00% | 2.20% |
| 8 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 62.29 | 0.60% | 3.30% |
| 9 | Urban Honolulu, HI | 61.65 | 0.80% | 2.70% |
| 10 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 56.41 | 0.70% | 2.60% |
| 11 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 55.66 | 0.50% | 3.10% |
| 12 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 46.58 | 0.30% | 3.00% |
| 13 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 46.05 | 0.90% | 1.30% |
| 14 | Minneapolis-St.Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 45.94 | 0.50% | 2.40% |
| 15 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 44.87 | 0.40% | 2.60% |
| 16 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 41.67 | 0.10% | 3.20% |
| 17 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 41.45 | 0.60% | 1.80% |
| 18 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 33.76 | 0.40% | 1.80% |
| 19 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 31.30 | 0.30% | 1.90% |
| 20 | San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | 21.90 | 0.20% | 1.50% |
| 21 | Anchorage, AK | 19.44 | 0.10% | 1.60% |
| 22 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 5.56 | 0.10% | 0.60% |
| 23 | Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 3.85 | 0.20% | 0.20% |
Consumer Price Index Change (Latest month vs 2 months before)
Highest
- 1. Seattle, WA
- T-2. Boston, MA
- T-2. St. Louis, MO
- 4. Denver, CO
- 5. Detroit, MI
Lowest
- T-19. Phoenix, AZ
- T-19. San Francisco, CA
- T-21. Los Angeles, CA
- T-21. Dallas, TX
- T-21. Anchorage, AK
Consumer Price Index Change (Latest month vs 1 year ago)
Highest
- 1. San Diego, CA
- T-2. Chicago, IL
- T-2. New York, NY
- 4. Philadelphia, PA
- 5. Los Angeles, CA
Lowest
- 19. Anchorage, AK
- 20. San Francisco, CA
- 21. Detroit, MI
- 22. Dallas, TX
- 23. Phoenix, AZ
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
Luisa R. Blanco
Professor of Public Policy, School of Public Policy, Pepperdine University
Read More
Marie Duggan
Professor of Business Management - Keene State College
Read More
Richard S. Grossman
Andrews Professor of Economics/Wesleyan University/Middletown, CT and Visiting Scholar/Institute for Quantitative Social Science/Harvard University/Cambridge, MA
Read More
Huiying Chen
Ph.D. – Associate Professor, University of Central Oklahoma, Department of Economics
Read More
Jamshid Damooei
Ph.D. – Professor and Director | Economics Program | School of Management; Executive Director | Center for Economics of Social Issues (CESI) - California Lutheran University
Read More
Sergey Sarkisyan
Assistant Professor of Finance, Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University
Read More
More 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.
Supporting Video Files:
Was this article helpful?
Important Disclosures
Ad Disclosure: Certain offers that appear on this site originate from paying advertisers. For full transparency, here is a list of our current advertisers.
Advertising impacts how and where offers appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear and their prevalence). At WalletHub we try to present a wide array of offers, but our offers do not represent all financial services companies or products.
Advertising enables WalletHub to provide you proprietary tools, services, and content at no charge. Advertising does not impact WalletHub's editorial content including our best picks, reviews, ratings and opinions. Those are completely independent and not provided, commissioned, or endorsed by any company, as our editors follow a strict editorial policy.
WalletHub is not a financial advisor. Our goal is to provide you with top-notch content, data, and tools. You are responsible for deciding what financial products and providers are best for your needs.
Irrespective of whether an institution or professional is a paid advertiser, the presence of information on WalletHub does not constitute a referral or endorsement of the institution or professional by us or vice versa.
We work hard to show you up-to-date product terms, however, this information does not originate from us and thus, we do not guarantee its accuracy. Actual terms may vary. Before submitting an application, always verify all terms and conditions with the offering institution. Please let us know if you notice any differences.
