Inflation is proving stubborn in the Twin Cities and across the country.
The consumer price index (CPI) in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region rose 3% year-over-year in January, mirroring the U.S. as a whole, according to federal data released Wednesday.
It’s a far cry from the more than 8% inflation of 2022 but far enough from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target to cause concern — especially considering tariffs under President Donald Trump, which aren’t yet impacting the data, but could push prices higher.
“Overall, price pressures are building, especially on items that are very visible to consumers,” said Satyam Panday, Chief U.S. and Canada Economist at S&P Global Ratings.
Here are three things to know about these latest inflation numbers:
1. This is a new look for the Twin Cities.
Local inflation has been lower than the U.S. since May 2022. In August 2023, the Twin Cities’ 1% CPI was the lowest of any metro area.
The one outlier was July, when the Twin Cities experienced a 3.5% CPI bump compared to 2.9% nationwide.
“The big thing that stuck out to me was really the similarity after a couple of years of focusing on the differences,” said Joe Mahon, regional outreach director at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. “Minneapolis-St. Paul is coming right in at the national average, and that’s not necessarily a good or a bad thing.”