Prices for everyday items continue to rise across the country, but in some places it’s worse than in others — especially for residents in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Although the national year-over-year inflation rate has dropped to 3%, it has hovered around 5% in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2024, according to a new WalletHub report.
That’s second only to Honolulu among a selection of 23 major U.S. metro areas, and higher than other cities known for a relatively high cost of living, including New York City and Los Angeles. Inflation in Dallas-Fort Worth has also risen steadily by 1% over the past two months — making it the nation’s worst city for inflation, according to the study.
The relatively high inflation rate can be attributed to a “significant housing shortage, along with restrictive government policies that limit new construction,” which has caused housing prices in Dallas-Fort Worth to soar, says WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe.
Other factors include “substantial increases in energy prices” including electric bills and persistent inflation in key areas like medical care and transportation services. Rising medical care costs have been linked to hospital consolidation in recent years, while transportation costs are largely related to the effects of urban sprawl, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Aside from Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu is the only other city in the study with year-over-year inflation that’s 5% or higher.
Below are WalletHub’s rankings of metro areas with the worst inflation, from worst to best. The rankings are based on an index that’s weighted equally between year-over-year inflation and inflation over the past two months as of June 2024.
1. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
- Two-month change: 1.00%
- One-year change: 5.00%
2. Urban Honolulu
- Two-month change: 0.70%
- One-year change: 5.20%
3. New York City
- Two-month change: 1.10%
- One-year change: 4.20%
4. Detroit
- Two-month change: 1.00%
- One-year change: 3.40%
5. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
- Two-month change: 0.60%
- One-year change: 4.00%
5. Boston
- Two-month change: 0.60%
- One-year change: 4.00%
7. St. Louis
- Two-month change: 0.80%
- One-year change: 3.40%
8. Washington, D.C.
- Two-month change: 0.80%
- One-year change: 3.30%
9. Seattle
- Two-month change: 0.40%
- One-year change: 3.80%
10. San Diego
- Two-month change: 0.50%
- One-year change: 3.20%
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