Study: Tampa Bay metro area inflation increases 

The Tampa Bay metro area has been seeing the effects of inflation in a major way, according to a WalletHub study published Sept. 11. 

The organization looked at consumer price index changes in 23 metropolitan statistical areas around the country, and Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater came in first place. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer price index “is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.”

WalletHub staff compared consumer price index changes over a period of time. It reviewed data “for the latest month for which Bureau of Labor Statistics data was available to two months prior and one year prior.” 

The Tampa Bay area saw a 3.30% change between the latest month of data and a year ago. Additionally, a 1.10% increase between the latest month of data and two months before was reported. 

This shows that inflation is continuing to impact the area and only getting worse. 

The organization credited multiple factors for causing inflation in the communities including labor shortages, tariffs and the war in Ukraine. No specific reasons were given for the Tampa Bay area’s inflation problem. 

The Catalyst spoke with University of South Florida economics professor William Greene to learn more about what inflation means for local residents. 

Before joining the staff at USF, Greene was a professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University. He authored a widely-used graduate textbook entitled Econometric Analysis and is the editor in chief of the Foundations and Trends in Econometrics journal. 

“The numbers differ because of the variation across the areas and the kinds of things residents buy and do,” he explained. “More importantly, the picture of inflation in the study is not a surprise.” 

The types of industry in each area as well as the climate could be factors as well, Greene continued. 

He added that there was a spike in housing prices in the Tampa Bay area within the past couple of years. Additionally, energy and insurance costs have been “rising rapidly” in Florida.  

“This crisis is producing enormous changes in prices for home insurance,” Greene said. “That’s an element that is going to vary a lot from place to place, but Florida has a special problem there.” 

Greene believes that the challenges will be prolonged. “I don’t think inflation is going to get better over the near term. It’s going to continue to grow as it has.” 

He agreed that tariffs have serious implications.

“There are tariffs on inputs like metals such as aluminum and steel that are going to affect the things manufacturers make, and that will filter down eventually into consumer goods.” 

While tariffs are having an impact on major grocery chains, causing prices to rise on some items, Greene said they could have an even greater impact on small businesses.

 “There’s stuff in the background that’s really going to matter,” he explained.“There are stories of retailers and specialty shops that are subject to 50% tariffs on the things that they sell. That’s enough to put them out of business.” 

To read the WalletHub study, view this website.