Inflation hits 40-year high in the Seattle area

It has been 40 years since consumer prices in the Seattle-Tacoma area have risen this much, this fast. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation in the Puget Sound region has gone up 10.1%, just in the last year.

For Edmonds mom, Monique Lynn, inflation means reprioritizing what she puts in her shopping cart.

“We definitely feel the pinch. We see the differences in prices,” Lynn said. “For example, I didn’t buy cream cheese today because it was $8.”

According to the Consumer Price Index for the Seattle area, grocery prices have jumped 13.5% in the past year.

Specifically dairy products, such as cream cheese, now cost 21.3% more.

Amar Mann, chief economist for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, says the regional 10% increase can be attributed largely to gasoline, housing and food prices.

“Where it’s really hitting folks is in the essentials,” Mann said. “We have seen prices rise before in Seattle but it was a really long time ago.”

It is an eye-catching figure, but Mann said we are not even the hardest-hit region in the country. Phoenix, Anchorage and Atlanta are all seeing higher inflation. He explains, retail prices are higher here because the Puget Sound Region already has a higher cost of living.

“This has always been a place that people want to live and it seems like it’s really hard for people,” Lynn said. “I hear a lot about people just leaving the state because they just can’t afford it.”