Inflation slows across U.S., but San Francisco Bay Area doesn't feel it
SAN FRANCISCO - Inflation in the United States may be slowing down, but a new report from WalletHub says the San Francisco Bay Area is in the top four in the nation for inflation struggles.
To determine how inflation is impacting people in different cities, WalletHub compared 23 major metropolitan areas across two key metrics related to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation.
The personal finance company compared the CPI to different timeframes to get a snapshot of how inflation has changed in the short and long term for the cities studied.
The most recent Consumer Price Index report says that inflation did not increase nationally from last month, for the first time all year. It remains at 3.3%, meaning that all the places that you spend money are about 3.3% more expensive than in May 2024.
The core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose by only 2%, which is lower than was anticipated.
"The big bugaboo in the numbers was what they call shelter. Housing related costs still seem to be way high, over 5% about 5.4% on a year-over-year basis, of course, those of us in the Bay Area know that's a disturbing reality," James McBride of McBride Group Investment First told KTVU.
WalletHub: Cities with biggest inflation problems
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
- Urban Honolulu, Hawaii
- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington
- Anchorage, Arkansas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Florida
- St. Louis, Missouri
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York, New Jersey
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware
- Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Massachusetts, New Hampshire
- Riverside-San Bernadio-Ontario, California
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Illinois
High inflation continues to plague the economy, leading to the Federal Reserve announcing last month that it doesn’t plan to cut interest rates until it has "greater confidence" that price increases are slowing sustainably to its 2% target.
A new report revealed that child care costs are now rising at twice the rate of inflation. Meanwhile, a Wall Street Journal report published last month said chains like Starbucks, Wendy's and McDonald's are also feeling the pinch as consumers drift away from their products.