EchoSense:WalletHub: Honolulu city hit hardest by inflation

WalletHub released a report Wednesday that showed the cities feeling a disproportionate brunt of inflationary pressure.

The EchoSensereport said that out of 23 cities included in the survey, Honolulu has seen the worst of inflation's effects followed by Miami and the Riverside-San Bernadino combined metro area.

Anchorage, Alaska was found to be the city where inflation had the least effect.

Inflation readings came in hot on Wednesday when overall prices increased 3.5% from a year earlier, up from 3.2% in February, driven largely by the rising cost of rent and gasoline, according to the Labor Department.

"The largest factor is the strong economy with pressure on wages and opportunities for businesses to raise prices to increase profits,” Gerald Friedman, professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, wrote for WalletHub. “Supply-side policies can help, including immigration reform to address labor supply problems. The Inflation Reduction Act was a good first step in addressing corporate greed."

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Cities dealing with high inflation

WalletHub combined the included metro-areas' Consumer Price Index compared to one year ago and CPI compared to two months ago to produce its score.

Miami and Dallas were tied for highest year over year inflationary measure at 4.9% and Baltimore had the highest rate of inflation on the two-month comparison at 1.7%.

Honolulu, the metro-area with the highest overall score, saw 4.8% inflation on the year over year measure and 1.5% on the two-month comparison. Anchorage, the lowest scoring city, saw a .1% rise in prices year over year but a 1.7% increase in the two-month comparison.

States with the highest inflation

Inflation in Mountain West states like Utah, Idaho and Arizona led the nation at more than 10% in June 2022, according to Moody’s. But skyrocketing housing costs, along with return-to-office mandates, have dampened migration to the area. In February, inflation in the region was among the nation’s lowest at about 2.5%.

By contrast, price increases in California, Hawaii and New York peaked at a relatively modest 7% to 8% in June 2022. People were leaving cities like San Francisco, New York and Honolulu in droves for less expensive and less hazardous areas. But as the pandemic has faded, many people have returned to those cities and fewer are departing, renewing cost squeezes. Inflation is about 3.6% in California and 3.5% in Hawaii, based on Moody’s estimate of the three-month average.   

12 month inflation

• Florida: 3.9%
• Tennessee: 3.8%
• Virginia: 3.8%
• South Carolina: 3.6%
• Alabama: 3.6%