San Diego Area Has Second-Highest Inflation Problem In Country: Study

SAN DIEGO, CA — The San Diego area has the second-highest inflation problem in the nation, according to a new study by WalletHub.

With the year-over-year inflation rate at 2.9% in August which is still above the target rate of 2%, the personal finance website Thursday released its updated report on the Changes in Inflation by City.

To determine how inflation is impacting people in different parts of the country, analysts at WalletHub compared 23 major metropolitan statistical areas across two key metrics involving the consumer price index, which measures inflation. The study's authors compared the consumer price index for the latest month for which Bureau of Labor Statistics data is available to two months prior and one year prior to get a snapshot of how inflation has changed in the short and long term.

The San Diego-Carlsbad metro area ranked No. 2 overall, according to the report. The CPI change was 0.80% from the latest month compared to two months prior. The CPI change was 4.00% from the latest month compared to one year ago.

"Various factors, such as the war in Ukraine, labor shortages and recent tariffs, drive this higher than average inflation," the study's authors wrote. "Despite the country not meeting its target yet, the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates at the level set in December 2024."

Earlier this year, the San Diego area had the highest inflation problem in the country, according to a study by WalletHub.

Currently, the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area in Florida has the biggest inflation problem in the U.S., according to the report. The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area across Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania ranked third.

View the full report on WalletHub.