Inflation has been at the top of our minds for the past year. From 2021 to 2022, prices have risen across the country. Not only rent prices, but groceries and energy too.
Inflation in Q1 2022 was 7.97 percent. In Q3, it was up to 8.33 percent. These yearly increases were reflected across the U.S. and in changing prices in cities. In Rent.’s analysis below, we’ll examine how groceries, rent and energy saw a change in prices above 4.52 percent, a benchmark to judge the rise in the cost of living based on the percent change in inflation between Q1 and Q3.
Let’s look at how cost of living prices increased from the first quarter to the third quarter.
Rent
It’s no secret rent prices have been on the rise across the country for the past two years, but with higher inflation a few cities have risen faster than the inflation rate. We looked at the five fastest-rising locations with 170,000 residents or more. Alabama sees two of its cities in the top 5.
Jacksonville, FL saw the fastest rise in rent prices, with a 35.8 percent increase. Currently, the median rent price is $1,628 per month across all units. Followed by Huntsville, AL at 33.4 percent. At number three, Tulsa, OK rose to 21.7 percent between Q1 and Q3 2022.
Rounding out the top are Montgomery, AL with a 19.5 percent increase in rent prices and Wichita, KS with 17.4 percent.
Groceries
With supply chain issues and inflation, grocery store prices have been trending up in the past year. Residents of Baltimore, MD saw a significant increase in groceries of 22.4 percent. Ground beef, tuna and bread hover around a 20 percent increase, while a dozen eggs went up 85 percent in price.
All four other cities in the top five fastest-rising locations increased 14 percent or less. Amarillo, TX hovered around a 14.8 percent increase in groceries, with ground beef, bread and sugar being the high-priced ticket items.
Next, we have Tampa, FL at a 13 percent increase, where prices are increasing in items like eggs, potatoes, steak and coffee. Closing out the top five, Chattanooga, TN (12.6 percent) and Cleveland, OH (12.4 percent).
Energy
Energy costs did not increase as much as rents and groceries in cities of 170,000 and more. The top five cities that increased the most still were only a few points over the inflation rate. Huntsville takes the top spot with an increase in overall energy costs of 8.5 percent.
Tulsa returns to the list with an 8.2 percent increase in energy costs, double the inflation rate. Followed by Buffalo, NY (7.6 percent), Chattanooga (7 percent) and Pittsburgh, PA (6.2 percent).
Cost of living increases across the country
In many U.S. cities, local prices outpaced the overall inflation rate between Q1 and Q3 of 2022. Residents are seeing price increases at the grocery store, in their monthly rent and utility bills.
Methodology
Cost of living data for the first and third quarter of 2022 is from The Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER), a nonprofit professional organization comprising research staff of chambers of commerce, economic development organizations and agencies, and related organizations throughout the United States.
Data on inflation is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Monthly inflation numbers reported by the BLS for January, February, and March 2022 were averaged to obtain an inflation number for the first quarter of 2022. For the third quarter of 2022 same calculation was done across July, August, and September 2022.
Using these calculations, the average inflation level in the first quarter of 2022 was 7.97 percent and 8.33 percent for third quarter. The percent change between those two levels is 4.52 percent. Percent changes in price levels from the first and third quarter C2ER cost of living report were calculated and compared in aggregate and by item for each city in the report to the 4.42 percent change in the rate of inflation from the first to third quarters in 2022. Those locations and items which showed a percent change in prices greater than 4.42 percent were determined to have risen faster than the change in inflation.
