inflation news
Houston has the lowest inflation problem in the U.S., study finds
Despite the national inflation rate sitting at 3 percent as of September 2025, the impact of inflation on Houston and the surrounding area isn't as severe as the rest of the U.S., a new study has revealed.
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land ranked as the metro with the smallest inflation problem in the U.S. in WalletHub's October 2025 "Changes in Inflation by City" report.
The study tracked inflation changes for 23 major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) using Consumer Price Index data from the latest month available and compared to data from two months prior. The analysis also factored in inflation data from last year to analyze both short- and long-term inflation changes.
Compared to two months ago, the inflation rate in Houston fell by 0.1 percent, and local inflation is only 1.10 percent higher than it was a year ago, WalletHub said.
Houston residents may be feeling the sting a lot less than they did in January 2024, when WalletHub said the city had the 7th highest inflation rate in the country. And yet, Houstonians are increasingly concerned with the economy and its effects on inflation, a recent University of Houston survey found.
A separate WalletHub study dubbed Texas the No. 1 most "financially distressed" state in the U.S. for 2025, adding to the severity of Texans' economical woes.
U.S. cities with the worst inflation problems
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado topped the list as the city with the No. 1 worst inflation problem as of September. The Denver metro saw a 1 percent uptick in inflation when compared to two months prior, and it's 3.10 percent higher than it was a year ago.
Elsewhere in Texas, WalletHub ranked Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington as the metro with the 8th lowest inflation problem nationwide. That's a fair shift from a previous report from June 2025 that ranked DFW the No. 1 U.S. metro with the lowest inflation issues.
The top 10 metros where inflation has risen the most as of September 2025 are:
- No. 1 – Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado
- No. 2 – Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California
- No. 3 – Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin
- No. 4 – Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Massachusetts-New Hampshire
- No. 5 –Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin
- No. 6 – (tied) Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware-Maryland and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia
- No. 8 – Anchorage, Alaska
- No. 9 – New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania
- No. 10 – San Diego-Carlsbad, California
