Inflation rates fell under 2% in Atlanta for the first time in almost four years and dropped significantly across the South, providing some relief to consumers — and potential voters — in regions that will be key to the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.
Consumer prices rose 1.7% in Atlanta last month from a year earlier, below the Federal Reserve's 2% target and well below the national average of 2.5%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics
Phoenix, another former hotbed of inflation in swing state Arizona, has seen a significant cooldown in inflation this year, and posted a below-average rate of 2.3% in August. In the South, a region that includes North Carolina — also a swing state in the election — the rate
Lower inflation doesn't equate to lower prices, and consumers still face higher costs of living compared with the pre-Covid era, especially rents. But the cooldown in price pressures could help Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrat candidate, who's been trying to distance herself from President Joe Biden and the blame for inflation that reached a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022.
Her opponent, former President Donald Trump, has been attacking the Biden administration — and Harris — for high prices that make Americans feel worse off than when he was leading the country.
Since she joined the race, Harris has especially improved
Inflation in the so-called blue wall swing states, however, is proving sticky, driven in part by higher prices for housing and clothes. In
The federal government tracks consumer prices by regions, not individual states. The BLS also provides data on 23 metro areas, with New York, Los Angeles and Chicago reporting inflation every month and the other cities doing so every second month.
