For the most part, inflation appears to have been holding steady despite new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. But the latest report from the U.S. Labor Department, issued on July 15, suggests the economic picture could be shifting.
The data show consumer prices rose 0.3% in June, which pushed the annual inflation rate to 2.7% — the highest since February. Core inflation hit 2.9%. The increase underscores concerns long voiced by economists and Federal Reserve officials that tariffs could fuel higher prices.
Of course, cities across the country experience vastly different cost-of-living impacts, and the pace of inflation can vary significantly from state to state and town to town. Last week, WalletHub released a breakdown for Changes in Inflation by City.
In order to determine how inflation is impacting people in different cities, WalletHub compared 23 MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) across two key metrics involving the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation… We then determined each MSA’s weighted average across the metrics and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.
For each MSA in the sample, we used the latest data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For some MSAs, there is a one-month lag on the data available.
The three metros with the biggest inflation problem in the U.S. are Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA; Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH; and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI. Over the last two months, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) change in these metros was +1.40%, +1.10%, and +0.80% respectively.
The three metros with the smallest inflation problem in the U.S. are Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ; Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX; and Anchorage, AK. Phoenix’s CPI rose 0.20%, while the CPI in Dallas and Anchorage rose 0.10%.
According to WalletHub, these California metros have the biggest inflation problem:
| Rank | Metro | CPI Change vs Two Months | CPI Change vs One Year |
| 1 | San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | 0.60 | 3.80 |
| 2 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 0.70 | 2.60 |
| 3 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 0.10 | 3.20 |
| 4 | San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | 0.20 | 1.50 |
View full list and methodology here.
List and data were compiled by WalletHub and do not reflect statistics on all metros.