If you've been feeling the squeeze on your wallet lately, you're not alone. A report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics published late last month found that inflation is up in the Inland Empire.
San Bernardino and Riverside Counties top a list of twelve of the country's metropolitan areas for the highest rate of inflation over a two-month period ending in November. San Diego and Los Angeles were close runners up.
The inflation rate for the Inland Empire was 4.5% which is higher than the national average of 2.7%.
Matthew Insco, an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said high rent prices in the region could be what caused such a high inflation rate for the Inland Empire. Rents in the area are up 5%, while the national average is about 3 percent.
"While that might not seem huge, when it comes to housing, that is a big portion of the CPI [consumer price index], about 40% of total household expenditures go toward housing," said Insco.
Gas prices could also be a contributing factor. Local gas prices were up 7 percent while the national average was under one percent.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release updated inflation numbers later this month.
