As the national inflation rate ticks up to 2.7 percent—its highest point since February—WalletHub’s July 2025 analysis of inflation trends across 23 major U.S. cities highlights stark regional differences in cost-of-living pressures.
How It Was Calculated
WalletHub analyzed the effect of inflation across the United States by examining 23 major metropolitan areas using two key Consumer Price Index (CPI) metrics. The study compared the most recent CPI data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics with figures from two months earlier and one year ago, providing a view of both short-term and long-term inflation trends.
What To Know
While some cities are experiencing a resurgence of price increases, others are enjoying notable economic stability, according to WalletHub’s report.
The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area currently faces the steepest short-term inflation spike among all surveyed metro areas, with a 1.4 percent rise over the past two months. It also saw a 2.7 percent year-over-year increase. Boston and St. Louis followed closely with 1.1 percent increases over the short term.
San Diego experienced the highest year-over-year inflation rate at 3.8 percent, followed by Chicago and New York, each with a 3.5 percent increase…