Americans are facing the highest inflation rates in decades, making it harder for them to afford everyday goods and more expensive to raise their families. Each month coinciding with the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ release of the Consumer Price Index, JEC Republicans’ State Inflation Tracker estimates how much inflation increases costs for American families in each state and how the drivers of inflation continue to vary across the country. Specifically, we ask: how much more must the average household pay today to maintain the same standard of living it achieved in January 2021, the last time inflation was within historical norms? See our methodology for a full description of our methods and a downloadable data file with a detailed breakdown of inflation costs by state.

You can find our full analysis for March 2022 here. See the highlights below:

• Prices increased 9.9 percent from January 2021 to March 2022, costing the average American household $536 last month alone.

  • Even if prices stop increasing altogether, the inflation that has already occurred will cost the average American household $6,431 over the next 12 months.

• Families in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) are facing the highest inflation rates, with prices in March 11.9 percent higher than in January 2021.

  • Due to a combination of higher inflation rates and higher average household spending, inflation is imposing the greatest monthly costs on families in Washington, DC ($780), Colorado ($724), and Utah ($702). Annualized, these families are facing inflation costs of $9,363, $8,686, and $8,429 over the next year, respectively.

• In the United States overall, the monthly inflation cost in March 2022 was highest within transportation ($255) and energy ($146). Average food inflation costs were $62 and shelter inflation costs were $60.

  • Families in Washington, DC are facing the highest transportation inflation costs ($376); families in California are facing the highest food inflation costs ($79); families in Colorado are facing the highest shelter inflation costs ($115); and families in Washington, DC are facing the highest energy inflation costs ($206).
    
    

See the interactive map below for more insights into how rising prices are affecting Americans differently depending on where they live.

Household Inflation Costs by State, March 2022