New Inflation Data Shows Rising Costs in Miami and South Florida

New inflation information confirms the daily difficulties many South Floridians are having making ends meet as consumer prices increased again in the region by the widest margin among large U.S. urban areas.

Highest Cost-of-Living Increase in Miami Metro Area

The Miami metro area in August posted the highest cost-of-living increase among the nation’s biggest 14 metropolitan areas. That is an infamous distinction the region has held since December 2022, when annual inflation rose 9.9%.

After showing continuous, albeit slow improvement over much of this year, inflation in the Miami metropolitan area spiked to 7.8% for the 12-month period ending in August, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was more than twice the latest national CPI of 3.7%.

“The reason that our rate of inflation is more than twice the nation’s is largely because of the housing market,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for financial information provider Bankrate.

The 7.8% jump also exceeded the 6.9% increase South Florida posted in June. It’s the first time since February the cost-of-living here has accelerated.

“The reason the price index for South Florida accelerated since June was due to oil and gas prices,” McBride said.

“[They] are up pretty sharply, and that’s a risk going forward,” he said, referring to potential ripple effects that could have on other parts of the regional economy.

Still, housing remains the key driver of South Florida’s overall soaring cost of living. Home rents jumped 15.3% last month, compared to a year ago while the cost of buying a home increased by 14.3%.

There remains a low inventory of single-family homes, and potential first-time homeowners get priced out.

The Consumer Price Index measures average price changes over time paid by urban consumers for a basket of goods and services. Data for the Miami metro area includes Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach areas, and is published bimonthly: February, April, June, August, October, and December.

Inflation Rates in Other Cities

Meanwhile in August, the Tampa region tied with Detroit for second-highest jump in inflation, at 5.9%. Next was Seattle at 5.4%.

Cities that local technology and finance professionals frequently lambaste fared much better, posting less than half of Miami metro area’s cost-of-living increase while continuing to draw far more investment dollars. Last month, New York posted a 3.5% increase, while San Francisco stood at 3.4%, Los Angeles, at 3.3%, and Chicago, at 2.3%.

In South Florida, it’s much more than jumps in fuel and housing hitting residents’ wallets. In August, costs of food, electricity and services increased considerably.

This story was originally published September 14, 2023, 1:12 PM.