Ouch! TX Inflation exceeds U.S.
Dallas > Houston > USA… and it all hurts
As the market pundits argue about the Fed’s next move, let’s look at how Texas has weathered the inflation storm.
Since the end of 2019, the cumulative price increase for consumers in Dallas (+25.5%) has outpaced Houston (+20.1%). Both Texas metro areas have experienced greater price increases than the U.S. city average of 19.5%. An influx of consumers likely fueled it as people relocated to Texas during the pandemic, resulting in more dollars chasing the same goods and services, thus bidding up prices.
The business press is focused on month-over-month changes in the CPI rate to look for signs of deflation; however, that does not mean things are getting cheaper; it is just that the rate of increase is slowing. While important in the context of setting monetary policy, it is less meaningful to a consumer dealing with the problem of how to allocate a fixed paycheck across an ever more expensive list of items.
“In the last 4+ years, if your income has not increased by more than 20% (25% in the Dallas area), your purchasing power has decreased… you are worse off.”
Focusing on CPI LESS food and energy is absurd. If your household includes children, teenagers, or even worse, a bodybuilder eating five meals per day, then food costs matter. My household has all three… so I am feeling it. It could be worse; I live in Houston, not Dallas… sigh.
- Researched and written by David Haas