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.
At the other end of the spectrum, Phoenix, Arizona, experienced the least inflation growth, with a 0.2 percent increase compared to one year ago and over the past two months.
Dallas and Anchorage also ranked among the cities with the lowest inflation, with two-month price changes of just 0.1 percent.
What People Are Saying
Sergey Sarkisyan, an assistant professor of Finance at Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University, said in the report: “Consumer demand and spending are usually the main factors when we talk about recent inflation. Opening after COVID and excessive spending following stimulus payments contributed to inflation worldwide.”
He added: “The current inflation rate is slightly higher than the target of 2 percent, but it continues declining. All else equal, current interest rates should reduce inflation further, but other factors, such as tax and tariff policy, can further affect inflation forecasts.”
Huiying Chen, an associate professor in the University of Central Oklahoma’s Department of Economics, said in the report: “Higher tariff expectations, trade wars, conflicts, the gradual adjustment of supply chain worldwide, and other economic uncertainty contribute to inflationary pressure. In the last few months, grocery prices, housing, people and businesses’ expectations on higher inflation due to the potential higher tariffs and import prices drive up the overall price level.”
What Happens Next
WalletHub periodically releases updates for its “Changes in Inflation by City” report.
Meanwhile, Newsweek also recently mapped America’s most and least stressed cities, based on a separate WalletHub report. This analysis, which ranked cities based on four main factors—Work Stress, Financial Stress, Family Stress, and Health & Safety Stress—found that Detroit ranked as the most stressed city in the 2025 study.