The cities most affected by inflation

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

The 5 U.S. cities most affected by inflation — none are in New York or California

With inflation once again on the rise, stubbornly high prices continue to eat into American budgets. But some metropolitan areas are seeing steeper inflation rates than others.

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area topped WalletHub’s recent list of cities most affected. It recorded a 7.8% increase in its consumer price index — which measures the change in how much consumers pay for goods and services — as of August, compared with a year ago.

That’s well above the nationwide year-over-year CPI, which hit 3.7% in August.

WalletHub analyzed 2-month and 12-month inflation in 23 major metropolitan areas and ranked cities by a weighted average of the two rates. 

Here are the five U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest inflation increases. 

1. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Florida

• 2-month CPI increase: 1.2%
• 1-year CPI increase: 7.8%

2. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado

• 2-month increase: 1.3%
• 1-year increase: 4.7%

3. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia

• 2-month increase: 1.1%
• 1-year increase: 4.4%

4. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington

• 2-month increase: 1.1%
• 1-year increase: 5.4%

5. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Michigan

• 2-month increase: 0.6%
• 1-year increase: 5.9%

Money Tip of the Week: How to talk to your kids about college

Worried a pricey college degree is no longer worth it? There’s good reason to be cautious. The student loan crisis has left millions of Americans  in debt, totaling more than a trillion dollars. 

But there’s still strong data in favor of pursuing higher education. As of 2022, college graduates earned 75% more, on average, than their high-school-educated peers, according to the San Francisco Fed. 

On balance, many experts still think college is the right choice for lots of young people. That’s because:

1. College can be an insurance policy. For someone planning to go into a specific trade, college may not be the best option. But career paths are rarely straight, and a bachelor’s degree makes it significantly easier to make a change and find a new kind of job, or pursue education in a different, exciting field. 

2. There are smart ways to keep costs down. Going to college doesn’t have to mean thousands of dollars in debt. Choosing to start in community college, attending a public university in your home state or applying for scholarships and grants can make a degree more affordable. 

Urge your kids to think of education as an investment with a return, experts suggest. Have them ask themselves, “Am I getting what I’m paying for?”

Aim to coach young people rather than dictating terms, says Tim Davis, associate professor of leadership and public policy at the University of Virginia. “Coaches are really great at tapping into a wise part of young adults and helping them to sort out their own thinking.”

Next Gen Investing: 3 changes coming to ChatGPT, from OpenAI’s chief technology officer

When Mira Murati joined artificial intelligence firm OpenAI in 2018, she and her colleagues were skeptical AI chatbots would ever develop language understanding. 

What a difference a few years makes. These days, users employ OpenAI’s ChatGPT in a litany of ways to enhance their personal and professional lives.

“The rate of technological progress has been incredibly steep,” Murati, chief technology officer at OpenAI, said in a recent discussion at the Atlantic Festival. Here’s what she said to expect from ChatGPT as the technology continues to develop.

You’ll be able to actually chat with chatbots. Murati envisions users talking with ChatGPT the same way they might with a friend or a colleague. “We want to move further away from our current interaction,” she said. “We’re sort of slaves to the keyboard and the touch mechanism of the phone. And if you really think about it, that hasn’t really been revolutionized in decades.”

AI will think on deeper levels. Current chatbots are very good at collaborating with human users. The goal, says Murati, is to have them think for themselves. “We’re trying to build [a] generally intelligent system. And what’s missing right now is new ideas,” she said. “With a completely new idea, like the theory of general relativity, you need to have the capability of abstract thinking.”

The workplace itself will change. AI will likely disrupt the way Americans work — a shift that will come with both risks and opportunities. “Some jobs will be created, but just like every major revolution, I think a lot of jobs will be lost. There will be maybe, probably, a bigger impact on jobs than in any other revolution, and we have to prepare for this new way of life,” said Murati. “Maybe we work much less. Maybe the workweek changes entirely.”

Want to earn more and land your dream job?

Join the free CNBC Make It: Your Money virtual event on Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. ET to learn how to level up your interview and negotiating skills, build your ideal career, boost your income and grow your wealth. Register for free today.

Worth the Money: $225 Eau de Parfum

For years, I’ve worn the same, signature cologne — an autumnal number full of wood scents and aromatic spices. Lovely, but not exactly ideal for, say, afternoons by the pool. 

So a few months ago, I decided I needed a separate scent for summer and landed on Tom Ford Costa Azzurra eau de parfum, which to me smells like ordering a third negroni sbagliato from a handsome waiter at a seaside resort. 

A 3.4-oz. bottle will run you $225, which seems outrageous, but here’s the thing: According to the collected wisdom of the internet, a bottle that size contains somewhere between 500 and 1,500 spritzes. Considering I might wear a spritz or two per summer weekend, chances are I’ll have this scent, like my other one, for years. Factoring in cost per use isn’t #boymath or #girlmath or #gaymath, it’s just … math. 

— Ryan Ermey, Senior Money Writer

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