Inflation is once again on the rise in the United States, affecting the daily lives of many Americans as they struggle to afford essentials like gas and groceries. After a period of cooling in 2024 and 2025, inflation reached 3.8% in April, marking the highest rate in three years.
Inflation Across State Lines
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, recently suggested that inflation is primarily a problem in blue states, citing higher costs in states like New York and California. However, this assertion does not align with the data. Inflation is high across all nine Census Bureau regions, driven largely by rising gas prices due to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. These increases have also affected airfares and shipping costs, thereby impacting grocery prices.
Omair Sharif, chief economist at Inflation Insights, emphasized that rising gas prices are a nationwide issue, not confined to blue states. While a White House report did find slightly higher inflation in blue states, this was based on outdated data from before the Iran war, which began in February. Since then, gas prices have surged over 40% nationwide, erasing previous discrepancies.
Regional Inflation Rates
The Labor Department’s consumer price index shows that inflation affects both red and blue states. For instance, the Pacific region, which includes predominantly blue states, had an inflation rate of 3.5% in April, below the national average. Conversely, the East South Central region, consisting of red states like Mississippi and Alabama, experienced a higher rate of 4.5%.
Some red states, such as those in the West South Central region (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana), have seen lower inflation rates at 3.2%. However, this is still a significant increase compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Core Inflation Trends
Hassett also mentioned that core inflation is on a downward trend, but this claim is misleading. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, has risen from 2.5% in January to 2.8% in April. The Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index, also shows an increase in core inflation.
While the trimmed mean for the PCE index has slightly declined, experts warn that this measure can be misleading during periods of surging inflation. The Cleveland Fed’s trimmed mean from CPI data has actually increased recently.
Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.
