“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you an urgent report from the Sunshine State. Florida, it seems, has become the epicenter of America’s inflation crisis, with the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach area experiencing a staggering 9% inflation rate over the past year, more than double the national average.

This surge in inflation is largely due to a persistent problem with sky-high housing costs, driven by a growing population and a booming real estate market. The state’s population has seen the most significant growth of any state from July 2021 to July 2022, largely due to domestic migration. This influx of residents has increased demand across the board, particularly in the housing market, leading to a sharp rise in inflation rates.

Housing costs account for almost a third of the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index, and population gains heavily influence that component. Rising interest rates, limited housing stock, and more expensive property insurance have also contributed to the escalating housing costs.

However, not all metro areas are experiencing such dramatic inflation. Minneapolis, for example, had an inflation rate of just 1.8% in May from a year earlier, the lowest of the 23 metro areas for which the Labor Department publishes inflation data. This is largely due to a surge of multifamily construction, which has increased the supply of apartments and brought down rents.

In Atlanta, inflation has also been on the decline, with the rate dropping to 5.8% in the 12 months ended in April, down from a peak of 11.7% in August 2022. This decrease is attributed to a better balance of supply and demand in the region’s housing market as migration into the city has slowed.

This has been a special report on the state of inflation in America. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. Good night, and good luck.”