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Elevated inflation continues to wallop Americans’ buying power across the country, but rising prices are impacting some areas more than others.
The latest consumer price index (CPI) released by the Labor Department Wednesday showed prices in the U.S. climbed 3.5% in March from a year ago, rising for the third straight month and remaining well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
Customers shop at a supermarket in Foster City, Calif., Sept. 13, 2023. Inflation rose for the third month in a row in March to 3.5% year-over-year. (Li Jianguo/Xinhua via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The CPI is a broad measure of the price of everyday goods, including gasoline, groceries and rent. Using data from the Bureau of Labor statistics, WalletHub compared 23 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) to determine how inflation is impacting people in different parts of the country.
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Here are the cities WalletHub determined are hurting the most from inflation:
1. Urban Honolulu, Hawaii
Hawaii’s largest city has been the hardest hit by rising prices. The study found the CPI for Honolulu was up 1.5% in March from two months prior and up 4.8% from a year ago.
2. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Florida
Aerial view of downtown Miami from the Edgewater neighborhood during sunset in Florida. (iStock / iStock)
The region on the southeast edge of the Florida peninsula is experiencing the second-worst inflation in the country. Prices rose in the area of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach by 1.4% from January to March, and are up 4.9% on an annualized basis.
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3. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California
On the opposite side of the country, the area surrounding San Bernardino in southern California had the third-highest price hikes in the U.S. The MSA, which includes Riverside and Ontario, saw inflation accelerate 1.4% over the past two months, and 4.3% from a year ago.
4. St. Louis, Missouri/Illinois
The St. Louis Arch is seen on the skyline of St. Louis Jan. 13, 2016. (REUTERS/Tom Gannam / Reuters Photos)
The St. Louis area on both sides of the border of Missouri and Illinois ranked fourth in highest inflation in the U.S. last month. Prices in the MSA were up 1.6% in March compared to two months earlier and climbed 3.6% from the same month in 2023.
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5. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
Texas’ Dallas, Forth Worth, Arlington area came in at No. 5 among the highest prices in March with a CPI increase of .9% from January and 4.9% from March of last year.
FOX Business’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.
