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. Thankfully, Phoenix has the 2nd-lowest inflation problem in U.S., a new Wallethub study shows.
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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.
The year-over-year inflation rate sits at 2.4% as of May 2025, which is still above the target rate of 2%. 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.
Cities With the Biggest Inflation Problems
| Overall Rank | MSA | Total Score | Consumer Price Index Change (Latest month vs 2 months before) | Consumer Price Index Change (Latest month vs 1 year ago) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 84.03 | 1.10% | 3.00% |
| 2 | St. Louis, MO-IL | 77.14 | 1.20% | 2.20% |
| 3 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 74.94 | 0.90% | 3.00% |
| 4 | San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | 72.73 | 0.60% | 3.80% |
| 5 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | 68.05 | 1.00% | 2.20% |
| 6 | Urban Honolulu, HI | 66.10 | 0.80% | 2.70% |
| 7 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 65.84 | 0.70% | 3.00% |
| 8 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 65.58 | 0.60% | 3.30% |
| 9 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 60.13 | 0.70% | 2.60% |
| 10 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 57.92 | 0.40% | 3.40% |
| 11 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 55.33 | 0.50% | 2.90% |
| 12 | Anchorage, AK | 54.94 | 0.90% | 1.60% |
| 13 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 49.22 | 0.90% | 1.20% |
| 14 | Minneapolis-St.Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 48.18 | 0.50% | 2.40% |
| 15 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 47.53 | 0.80% | 1.40% |
| 16 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 46.49 | 0.40% | 2.60% |
| 17 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 36.23 | 0.30% | 2.20% |
| 18 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 33.64 | 0.40% | 1.70% |
| 19 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 31.95 | 0.30% | 1.90% |
| 20 | San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | 27.92 | 0.40% | 1.30% |
| 21 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 22.86 | 0.10% | 1.90% |
| 22 | Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 13.64 | 0.40% | 0.30% |
| 23 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 4.29 | 0.10% | 0.60% |
