April 20, 2022 |
If you think you’re paying more for goods and services, you are. Wyoming’s inflation rate is at a 41-year high, according to state numbers crunchers.
The inflation rate for all items sold in the Cowboy State hit 9.3% in the Fourth Quarter of 2021, the highest rate since the third quarter of 1981 when the inflation rate topped out 11.8%. The numbers are included in the Wyoming Cost of Living Index released this week by the State of Wyoming, Economic Analysis Division.
Nationally, the inflation rate from December 2020 to December 2021 was more than 2.0% less at 7.0%.
At 22%, transportation was the big driver of inflation in Wyoming. Food was up 8.3% in the fourth quarter of 2021, housing 7.4%.
According to the report out Monday, the inflation rate never rose above 3.3% from 2016 to 2020. The average rate was 1.6%.
According to the report, inflation rose 5.7% in the first quarter of 2021—from 2.0% to 7.7%. The state only produces the Comparative Cost of Living Index in the second and fourth quarters.
The fourth quarter inflation rate in Carbon County for all items was slightly below the statewide average for all items, according to the index. Increases in transportation here were on par with the rest of the state. Medical costs in the county were higher than last year and higher than the statewide increase.
The highest overall inflation rate in the state was in Teton County.
Renters in Carbon County have been hard hit over the past year by price hikes, but they can consider themselves somewhat lucky compared to their counterparts in other Wyoming counties. For instance, apartment rentals were up 16% on average in Carbon County, from $636 per month to $741. While apartments in Teton County jumped only 12.4%, the average price spiked from $2,472 a month to $2,780.
Rentals in Lincoln County endured a 31.5% rental hike, from $750 to nearly $1,000/month on average.
Price data were collected from 28 cities and towns in Wyoming. The data was used to build a comparative Cost of Living Index by county and to estimate overall inflation rates.
