Where is inflation the highest? Chicago, New York rank near top
New inflation report: positive signals for economy
In the new report released this week, data points show price spikes are on the mend, and the economy is growing. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is still on track to cut interest rates. While these are positive signs, the labor market is now presenting challenges. Dr. Mike Walden, an economist, joins LiveNOW from FOX.
The U.S. inflation rate hit a 40-year high following the COVID-19 pandemic, but has since cooled significantly due to factors like the Federal Reserve rate hikes.
Yet, inflation rates differ across the U.S.
New data released by the Labor Department on Wednesday revealed that consumers in the Northeast and Midwest are facing more inflation than the South and West regions.
The report showed that the Northeast saw 3.4% inflation in August compared to a year ago, the fastest of the four regions analyzed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, the Midwest experienced 2.6% inflation, the South saw 2.3%, and inflation was 2.2% in the West.
FILE: Vegetables are stacked neatly inside a produce area. (Credit: Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
The labor department also looked at price growth in various cities and metropolitan areas around the country.
Chicago had the highest inflation rate of all metro areas at 3.8% – just ahead of the New York City area's 3.7% inflation rate.
Detroit's inflation rate was 3.5% in August, followed closely by Philadelphia at 3.4%, St. Louis at 3.3%, Baltimore at 3.0% and Los Angeles at 2.9%.
Cities in the South saw relatively lower inflation rates in August, with Atlanta and Houston both at 1.7%.
The Phoenix metro area saw 2.3% inflation in August, while urban Alaska was at 1.5%.
Inflation rate in major U.S. cities
In addition, the data also revealed that the consumer price index (CPI), a measure of how much everyday goods like gasoline, groceries and rent cost, was up 2.5% from a year ago for the U.S.
Food at home was up 2.1% in August compared to a year ago. More specifically, butter was up 6.7%, uncooked ground beef increased to 4.9%, tomatoes were up 3.9% and eggs were up a whopping 28.1%.
Food price increases, decreases
The data lines up with another recent study that determined how inflation is impacting people in different parts of the country. In August, WalletHub compared 23 major cities across two key metrics related to the CPI.
They found that the Northeast and Midwest also saw the largest inflation issues. Minneapolis had the largest inflation problem, followed by Chicago, Detroit, Honolulu and New York City.