© 2024 Boise State Public Radio
NPR in Idaho
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
A regional collaboration of public media stations that serve the Rocky Mountain States of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

The Mountain West has the nation’s highest inflation rate

An arrow follows the peaks of a mountain, going up and up
JakeOlimb
/
iStock

News Brief 

Inflation is the highest the nation’s seen since the 1980s with consumer prices increasing 7% over the last year. It’s even bleaker in the Mountain West.

Last Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics put out a report that outlined consumer spending increases in the 12 months ending in December. Broken down byregion, the Mid-Atlantic saw a 5.8% increase in consumer prices in 2021, the lowest increase in the nation. Similarly, New England’s rose by 6.2%.

But the inflation rate in the Mountain West jumped 8.6%. That includes Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.

Why is our dollar not going as far? Some driving factors include the rising costs of food, transportation and energy, including gas and electricity.

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Nevada Public Radio, Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Madelyn Beck was Boise State Public Radio's regional reporter with the Mountain West News Bureau.

You make stories like this possible.

The biggest portion of Boise State Public Radio's funding comes from readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

Your donation today helps make our local reporting free for our entire community.