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Tampa Inflation Tops Major U.S. Cities at 8% in November From Year Ago

Tampa Inflation Tops Major U.S. Cities at 8% in November From Year Ago

Sunshine is still free -- but everything else in Tampa is getting expensive fast.

The Florida city had the worst inflation of any major U.S. metro area last month, with November prices up 8% from a year ago. That’s 300 basis points higher than in New York City, where prices rose 5% last month.

The Riverside, California, metro area and Dallas also saw inflation well above the countrywide average, at 7.9% and 7.5%, respectively. Nationwide, consumer prices surged 6.8%, the fastest annual pace in nearly 40 years, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show.

Tampa Inflation Tops Major U.S. Cities at 8% in November From Year Ago

The BLS started breaking down inflation data by cities in 2001, adding more places over time to reach the current 23. A reading of 8% is the highest ever reported for any metro area, the data show.

Out of the 12 cities that reported November figures, 10 were at a record for their area. The only exceptions were New York, where prices rose the most since June 2006, and Boston, where the current rate of 5.3% is the highest since 2008.

The numbers highlight a pandemic-era divide, with scorching inflation in regions -- many in the South -- that have attracted people during the Covid-19 crisis. In the East Coast and West Coast cities they fled, increases have been more moderate.

Most cities report inflation every second month in the U.S. In October, Atlanta posted the highest rate, but the Georgia capital wasn’t included in the November numbers.

Tampa Inflation Tops Major U.S. Cities at 8% in November From Year Ago

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.