Consumer prices rose faster last year in large U.S. metropolitan areas seeing an influx of new residents than in the nation overall, while inflation was milder in large coastal cities with less population growth.
The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell area saw the highest inflation among metropolitan areas with more than 2.5 million people—9.8% for the 12 months through December, according to the Labor Department. Phoenix, St. Louis and Tampa also saw annual inflation rates higher than the 7% national rate in December.
The San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area, known as one of the country’s most-expensive places to live, saw 4.2% inflation last year, the lowest of any of the 23 large metro areas for which the Labor Department publishes inflation data. Inflation also came in below the national rate in the New York City, Boston and Washington, D.C., metro areas.
Urban areas with the highest inflation rates as of year-end
Urban areas with the lowest inflation rates as of year-end
Urban areas with the highest inflation rates as of year-end
Urban areas with the lowest inflation rates as of year-end
Urban areas with the highest inflation rates as of year-end
Urban areas with the lowest inflation rates as of year-end
Urban areas with the highest inflation rates
as of year-end
Urban areas with the lowest inflation rates
as of year-end
Urban areas with the highest inflation rates
as of year-end
Urban areas with the lowest inflation rates
as of year-end
An important factor driving the regional divergences, according to economists, was pandemic-fueled population shifts from larger cities to suburbs or smaller metro areas, particularly in the Sunbelt, both by retiring baby boomers and remote workers seeking warmer weather and…
Read More: Inflation Was Hottest in Atlanta, Mildest in San Francisco in 2021