Neither New York nor California: These are the 15 states least affected by inflation

On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the Consumer Price Index report for January. The data will be the last that contains information directly relevant to the Biden administration, though the economic policies and agenda set by the previous president are likely to continue impacting the economy in the months ahead. However, as President Donald Trump has moved quickly to disrupt the functions of the US government, including incentivizing mass layoffs, we are likely to see impacts in the economic indicators that provide insights into the health of the US economy.

The economy and the high cost of essential goods were one of the main reasons Donald Trump was able to secure a victory over Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. However, inflation across these commodity groups has been seen all over the world, meaning that elevated prices are only partially explained by policies enacted by the Biden administration. Since January 2022, when prices really began to climb, all regions tracked by the BLS saw prices increase by an average of ten percent or higher. However, with the cost of living varying within and among states, inflation impacted residents in different ways.

The states where prices have seen the least growth since 2022

The states that saw inflation increase the least between January 2022 and December 2024 were Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. In these six New England states, prices rose by an average of 10.60 percent. For reference, for the period between January 2019 and December 2021, prices rose by an average of 8.6 percent across those same states.

Across the Mountain states of Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming, prices grew by 11.72 percent, a full point more than in New England. However, this region endured steep price increases before 2022, which may help to explain why price growth was lower over the last two years. Between 2019 and 2021, prices rose by an average of 13 percent, and much of that increase was seen in 2021, as supply chain disruptions led prices to rise. Closely behind the Moutain states, are Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas, where prices increased by 11.78 percent.

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