South Florida’s Inflation Rate
Bottom Line: If it feels like the cost of what you’re paying for is continuing to rise faster than what you’re hearing is happening nationally – you're right. Recently we learned that the consumer inflation rate for April was 3.4%, a figure that remains high but that at least didn’t show further acceleration after each of the first three months of the year had shown inflation reacceleration. While that may be the case, inflation is very much a local phenomenon and for most of the last three years South Floridians have been paying the highest inflation rate in the country which is saying something given that we’ve been stuck in the highest inflation cycle in over forty years.
South Florida’s story has largely been driven by demand. Florida’s been the top state for net migration over the past three years and the rising costs for goods and services but especially housing has reflected it. In South Florida’s most recently released inflation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it’s a good news/bad news story. The good news... The annual inflation rate for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro has been cut in half over the past year. The bad news, it’s still much higher than the national average.
South Florida’s inflation rate is currently 4.5% - which is exactly half of the 9% inflation rate at the same time a year ago. However, that rate is still well above the 3.4% national average over the same period. South Florida’s inflation rate has continued to be mostly driven by housing related costs and booze. No kidding. Here are the categories where inflation has been highest:
- Alcoholic beverages
- Non-alcoholic beverages
- Housing
- Apparel
- Recreation
The one bright spot was the cost of energy, led by the cost of electricity, which is over 7% lower in cost compared to a year ago on average. Given that South Florida is likely to remain one of the most desirable locations in the country for the foreseeable future it’s likely that inflation will continue to reflect it. With that said our rate of inflation is much closer to the national average than it’s been over the prior three years. Hopefully it continues to trend that way.