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. The year-over-year inflation rate sits at 3.4% as of April 2024, which is still above the target rate of 2%. Various factors, such as the war in Ukraine and labor shortages, drive this higher than average inflation. Despite the country not meeting its target yet, it’s possible the Federal Reserve could even cut interest rates this year rather than raising them further.
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.