It’s no secret, it’s expensive to live in San Diego. But now we’re getting a better idea of just how much more things cost in San Diego compared to the rest of the U.S.
New numbers show San Diego now has the fourth-worst inflation rate in the country.
NBC 7’s Audra Stafford spoke to a local expert about what’s driving our prices up and why it could be awhile before we see them start to level out.
High rents and home prices, along with sky-high electricity costs are just a few of the things driving inflation up in "America's Finest City."
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The Consumer Price Index, which is a widely-used measure of inflation, shows while prices in San Diego dropped 0.2% for the two months ending in November, they’re still up more than 5%, year over year.
Our inflation rate is the fourth-highest in the country, behind Dallas, South Florida and Honolulu.
Our housing market is one of the big reasons for this record-high inflation rate, in addition to high home prices and mortgage rates.
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Rent is up 8.7% over the last year while food is about 3% more expensive and the cost of electricity is up 4%.
Point Loma Nazarene Business Professor and Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Education Randall Waynick says though inflation is starting to come down in some parts of the country, it could be awhile before we start to feel some relief here in San Diego.
"The numbers are revealing and they certainly validate, I think, what the experience is for most people here is San Diego is a great place to live. But in San Diego particularly, where there is a massive shortage of housing, where there is a desire for people to live here, it’s driving up electricity costs even higher. It’s just sort of compounding the effort. Where there was a little margin, or a little bit of discretionary income, it’s being sucked up with the cost of energy, with the cost of food," Waynick said.
Waynick says there are some signs of optimism and hope for 2024, though it likely won’t come from our housing market. Since mortgage rates go down, prices will likely go up.
He says some of other costs, like food and gas prices, should start to ease up.
